Hair style, length, color, and texture are sensitive to cultural norms. This commentary explores hair plus the relationship to brave.
This part of the commentary explores hair and words akin to hair.
Hair is derived from and linked to: ME here or her; OE hær; Ger haar; Frank harja; OFr haire meaning hair or shirt; Grk komē; Grk dasys; Grk etheira; Grk chaite meaning long hair or mane; Grk lasios; Grk thrix or trichos; L villus; L pappas; L pilus; L crinus; L capillus; L coma meaning hair of the head and foliage; L hirsurus; and IE base ker(s) meaning to bristle and IE kes with meanings of scratch; snug; razor; to cut; fortified place; castle; chaste; pure; caste; chaste; castigate; to lack and empty or void.. Grk trix also means hair or three-fold. L –trix is a suffix (feminine) meaning an agent or doer of action. Hair can be defined as: thread like filaments growing from the skin of animals or humans; material woven from hair; a very small space, margin, or degree; and threadlike growths on plants. Refer to the Biblical Old Testament story of Jacob and Esau, where Jacob tricked his father into believing he was the hairy son, (Esau was hairy), in order to receive the father’s blessing of first born. This story is also in the brave commentary.
There are many slang phrases and colloquialisms using hair, indicating the importance of the symbolic nature of hair. Hairy either means covered with a lot of hair, fraught with difficulties, or a harrowing experience. An annoyance is described as “getting in one’s hair”. Scot hairy can mean the devil. Hairbreath means extremely close. Hairline may refer to a type of bone fracture, or the outline of hair on the front of the head. A sharp U turn can be referred to as a hairpin turn. Excitement or terror can be a hair-raising event or it can make one’s hair stand on end. Don’t get gray hairs over a problem, or when feeling exasperated or frustrated a person might want to pull their hair out. To let one’s hair down is to be laid back, relaxed, or informal. The idea of counting hairs is to be exact or right in all the details. Unreasonable fine distinctions or quibbling can be hair splitting. A hair trigger means extreme sensitivity to pressure, for example of a gun’s trigger mechanism. Hair brained or hare brained are phrases meaning to have or show little sense, be reckless, flighty, giddy, or rash. The hare or rabbit exhibit flight behavior.
Hair in OFr means to hate and yields heinous, which means wicked, evil, and abominable. Hirsute means hairy, bristly, or shaggy and is linked with the L word hircine for goat (and the goat’s smell). Hircine is also derived from IE root gherkwo with IE base ĝhers meaning to bristle and linked to horrid.
L pilus means hair which is linked to pile. Pile can refer to: a heap of wood or other burnable material on which a corpse or sacrifice is burned; a large building or group of buildings, including religious buildings and temples; an arrangement of dissimilar metal plates that produce an electric current; hair; a heavy beam driven into the ground to support a surface structure; and in heraldry a wedge-shaped bearing with the point facing
downward. Piles refer to hemorrhoids with ME pylys, L pilae and pila meaning a ball initially a knot of hair. Pileus, derived from L pilleum meaning a felt cap, refers to a brimless cap worn in ancient Rome, the cap of a mushroom, the umbrella-shaped disk of a jellyfish, and pileum. A pileum is the top of a bird’s head from the bill to the nape.
Pelage means a coat or covering of hair or fur of a mammal. In many L and Grk words beginning with pel, there is a sense of fertility, water, hair as a protection, earth, and skin. Pelerine, derived from Fr pelerin meaning a pilgrim and L peregrinus meaning foreigner, is defined as a women’s fur cape tapering to long points in the front.
Pill is derived from ME pilien meaning to rob and peel, and L pilare meaning to make bald. Definitions are to pillage, plunder, or peel. Peel has three sets of meanings. The first peel set is derived from: ME pilien or peolien; OE pilian; L pilare meaning to make bald and related to pile. Definitions are: to cut away or strip off; pare; shed skin or bark; to come off in layers; to undress; the rind or skin of fruit; to abruptly veer away from a flight formation; to depart; leave; and go in another direction. The second peel, derived from ME pele, OFr pala meaning a spade, refers to a long shovel-like tool used by bakers for moving bread in or out of ovens. The third peel, derived from ME pel, OFr pel meaning a fort or stake, L palus, and IE pak meaning to fasten, refers to a fortified house or tower built during the 16th cent. between Scotland and England.
Rug has a link to hair. Rug is derived from: Scand and Norw rugga meaning a coarse coverlet; Swed rug meaning shaggy hair; ON rogg meaning long hair; and IE base reu meaning to tear out. Rug is defined as a piece of thick, napped fabric, woven in strips of rag or animal pelts and used as a floor covering. Rug is sometimes used in place of the word carpet, but there are differences. A carpet usually covers the entire floor, where as a rug may not. Rugged is closely linked to rug and is defined as: having irregular projections and depressions; uneven in surface or contour; rough; wrinkled; strong, irregular, and wrinkled, as in facial features; stormy; tempestuous; sounding harsh; severe; hard; stern; robust; sturdy; vigorous; and an action requiring great skill, strength, and endurance.
Bald, implying the absence of hair, has meanings that are associated with weakness, religious norms and rituals, truth, and cleanliness. Derivations are: ME balled; Or bal meaning ball; Grk phalos meaning white and phalakros meaning bald; and IE base bhel meaning gleaming and white. Bald means: the white fur or feathers on the head of certain animals and birds such as the bald eagle; an absence of hair on the head; an area not covered by natural growth; bare; and unadorned. Bare, bold, brave, fertility and strength are all intertwined with hair, as well as barren, naked, weak, threadbare, poor, uncover, strip, and expose.
Fell has five sets of definitions which essentially deal with hair or fur as coverings or styles of hair linked to cultural norms showing strength, bravery, brutality, and coverings humans use to hide body areas. How do these definitions relate to the “fall of man” as given in the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden?
The first fell is directly related to fall with the same derivations. Fall derivations are: ME fallen; OE feallan; Ger fallen; Lith púolu; and IE base phol meaning to fall. Fall has many meanings and it is used in many colloquial phrases. Basically, it is related to the effect of gravity on a body and the idea of a light object becoming heavy. The following represent the variety of meanings: to lose power; descend suddenly; lose status as in the “fall of man” or as applied to women who lose chastity; loss of dignity; to be divided; to fell a tree; the number of animals in a litter; the season of fall or autumn; a water fall; a long tress of a women’s hair; and to fall ill or into another condition.
Colloquialisms have specific directions as in: fall in; fall out; fall down; fall back or behind; fall off; fall over; and fall for. Consider why “humans fall in love”! To “fall in love” is recognition of other who is different from self and an acceptance of our dual nature, where in order to become unified one must merge with one’s opposite. So, does “falling in love” imply that the persons or persons involved are falling “out of control”? People in love can be “swept off their feet”. In what direction does one fall when falling in love? What is the final destination of the fall? Does the fall stop when a resistance is met?
There are words beginning with fall that generally mean fail. They are fallacious, fallacy, and fallible. Fallacy is derived from: ME fallace; L fallacia meaning deception and artifice; L fallax and fallacies meaning deceitful with L fallere meaning to deceive or disappoint; and IE base ghwel meaning to bend or deviate and yielding fail. Definitions are: deception; aptness to mislead; delusive quality; a false or mistaken idea, opinion; error; an error in reasoning; flaw or defect in argument; and in logic an argument which does not conform to the rules of logic, but appears to be sound. Fallible shares the same derivations plus ME and ML fallibilis. Definitions are liable to be mistaken or deceived, and liable to be erroneous or inaccurate.
The second fell, derived from ME fellen or fellan, Gmc falljan, and IE base phol meaning to fall, to fell, or a happening. Definitions are: to cause to fall; knock down an opponent; to cut down; and to turn over the rough edge of a seam and sew down flat; and the trees cut down in one season.
The third fell is derived from: ME fel; and OFr and ML fello as related to felon. This fell refers to: fierce; terrible; cruel; and deadly as in the phrases: “felled by a single blow” or “one fell swoop” meaning one single action or effort is completely effective or devastating.
The fourth fell is derived from: ME fel; OE and Ger fell; L pellis; and IE pel meaning skin or hide. Definitions are: an animal skin or a thin membrane of tissue under the skin. The last fell is derived from: ME fel; Scand and ON fjall meaning mountain; Ger fels meaning rock or cliff; MIr all meaning crag; Grk pella meaning stone; and IE base pels. The meaning is a rocky or barren hill, a moor or a down.
Felt can be made of hair. Felt derivations are: ME, OE, Ger filz; Du filt with basic sense of a cloth made by pounding or beating; L pellare meaning to beat or drive; and IE base pel with one set of meanings yielding skin, hide, fell, film, pelt, surplice, and shield. Definitions are: a fabric of wool, often mixed with fur or hair, or with other types
of fibers that are worked together by pressure, heat, or chemical action, rather than by weaving or knitting; any fabric or material with a fuzzy, springy surface; and to become matted together.
Chaeta is derived from: ModL and Grk chaitē referring to long hair or a mane; Avestan gaēsa; and IE base ghait meaning curly hair. Chaeta refers to a bristle like projection, or seta, which is part of an organ. Seta is derived from: ModL and L seta or saeta meaning stiff hair or bristle; OE sal meaning rope; and IE base sei meaning cord and linked to sinew. Sinew is derived from: ME and OE seonwe and seonu meaning oblique form; OHG senawa; ON sin; L saeta meaning bristle; Sansk sinati meaning to tie; and IE base sēi meaning to bind or a band. Sinew definitions are: a tendon; muscular power; strength; force; and any source of power. Seti, derived from L saeta meaning stiff hair is a combining form meaning bristle, used in combination with another word such as setiform. Seti, the first Pharaoh of the 19th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt’s New Kingdom, was a very strong ruler who extended the influence and boundaries of Egypt. Chaeta may also be linked to the cheetah, an animal known for muscular power in the legs.
Down is soft, fine hair. Down also gives a sense of toward the ground, of lying or reclining, or from a higher to a lower position. The IE base is dheu which yields the following words and meanings: be turbid; to fly like dust; dull; dusk; dumb; hill; dune; dew; diminish; and death and die. Grk chnoos or chnous means fine down or any light substance, foam, froth, or bloom. Other words meaning hair and down are Grk pappos and L pappus. An Indian word from the Narragansett tribe is papoos meaning child.
Perhaps there is a connection, since the young child may have more down than hair. Pekoe, a fine grade of tea, is made from the small leaves at the tips of the stems, while the leaves still have down on them. In the Amoy Chinese dialect, pek-ho means white down.
Hair, fur, pelt, or hide were basic forms of protection and source of warmth for early humans. As the definitions are read, notice the references to male dominance over the female, the relationship of female coverings which hide the skin, such as the burka, and the indication of fighting. Fight has an IE base of pek meaning to pluck hair and L pecton meaning comb. See comb below.
Fur is derived from: ME furre and furrure meaning fur lining or blanket; OFr fourrure and fuerre meaning sheath or lining; Frank fodr; Ger futter; Grk poimen; Sansk pala meaning shepherd; and IE base po meaning to tend flocks, cover, and protect.
Definitions are: soft, thickhair covering the body of many mammals; dressed pelt; any garment, neckpiece, trimming made of fur skins; any furlike or fuzzy coating; and to become coated with a deposit. The aphorism, “to make the fur fly”, has meanings of to cause dissension or fighting, and to accomplish very quickly. Pelt has two sets of definitions. The first pelt may be related to pellet. Definitions are: to throw things at; strike with or as with missiles; to beat or pound heavily and repeatedly; to rush or hurry; and a blow. The second pelt, derived from OFr peleterie yielding peltry, is defined as the skin of a fur-bearing animal and the human skin. Hide has three sets of definitions.
The first hide is derived from: ME hiden; OE hydan; Grk keuthrein; and IE base
skeu meaning to cover or conceal and yielding sky, skin, scum, obscure, cutaneous,
hoard, sheath and vulva, hut, and hide. Definitions are: to put or keep out of sight; secrete; conceal; to turn away; and a place of concealment for an observer or hunter. The second hide is derived from OE hid; Ger haut; L cutis meaning skin; Grk kytos meaning hollow container; and IE base skeut or skeup meaning cluster, tuft, and hair of the head and yielding sheaf, and hop (plant). Definitions are: an animal skin or pelt; the skin of a person; to beat severely or flog. The third hide is derived from: OE higid and hiwan meaning household; OHG hiwo meaning husband and master of a household; Grk koitos bed or sleep; L civis meaning citizen; and IE base kei with meanings to lie, bed, beloved, dear or camp and yielding hind, hide, city, cradle, cemetery, and Shiva. The definition is an old English unit of land measure varying from 60 to 120 acres.
Hare is probably related. Hare is derived from: OE hara; Ger hase; L canus meaning hoary; and IE base kas meaning gray with the connotation that a gray animal is linked with a taboo name. Hares similar to rabbits, have longer ears and hind legs and give birth to active already furred young. Hares and rabbits reproduce quickly which makes the animal a symbol of fertility and sexual passion. As noted above a harebrained scheme makes little sense and is reckless.
Coma Berenices or in L Berenice’s Hair is a constellation containing the north galactic pole. The feminine name, Bernice, means bringer of victory and derived from L pherein meaning to bear plus nikē meaning victory. Grk kometes literally means longhaired star, with Grk kome meaning hair.
The comb is used in the care of the hair. According to Barbara Walker, female hair combing was mythologically associated with control of the weather and the appearance of goddess images, and in Tantric and Oriental religions the braiding or binding of hair versus the idea of loose hair, was associated with creative and destructive forces. In one version of the rebirth of an Ancient Egyptian god Walker states, “The hair of the Goddess Isis carried magical powers of protection, resurrection, and reincarnation; she gave rebirth to Osiris-Horus by “shaking out her hair over him.” (pg. 313). She goes on to say the hair of Isis represents the thicket of reeds that shielded her child from danger, and that hair was like falling water. (pg. 129). The hair of mythological figures such as Gorgon and Medusa was imaged as snakes, or perhaps electric eels. Walker states, “Blood figured prominently in the myth of Medusa. Even as she died, her blood gave birth to the lunar horse ….Pegasus. Her serpent like hairs symbolized menstrual secrets: the mystic combination of woman and serpent that men feared and diabolized in nearly all mythologies. Even in the Middle Ages, men were still insisting that the hair of a menstruating woman, buried in the ground by moonlight, would turn into a snake.” (pg. 255). The folktale that bats can become entangled in a woman’s long hair originates with the belief that bats are associated with demons who came out in the night ready to attack the innocent soul and suck the blood of rebirth. So why are women required to cover their hair in so many places around the globe?
According to Circlot, head hair symbolizes spiritual forces and body hair symbolizes animal or lower instincts. In many ancient religious practices the body and head hair of priests was shaved off. The ancient Egyptian priests, priestesses, and those who served in the temples are shaven. Ancient Egyptians commonly used wigs. Hair
scarfs worn by Muslim women cover the hair to symbolize the women’s’ role, especially signifying fertility, with reference to the dominant male. Showing hair to strangers or men other than family members would be considered disrespectful and a challenge to their strength. Only the husband is to see the full “strength” of his wife’s head of hair. So, hair can represent fertility. This suggests the reason women wear hijabs or burkas in the Islamic faith. Arab barqa’a means to veil or drape. Arab burqu’ or bardqi’ means a long veil worn by women leaving only the eyes exposed. Could Arab barq or burq meaning lightning, flash of lightning, and telegraph be related to the idea that the female who radiates light must cover this light and be kept in darkness and remain mysterious, or hide the light so she does not attract men, or could it be just the opposite that the female is protected from the lightning rod of the male (penis)? Arab barraq means shining, lustrous, sparkling, flashing, glittering, and twinkling.
Most Muslim women cover themselves with the hijab, a long, loose fitting cloak or dress covering the arms and legs with a head scarf covering the hair and neck so that no head hair is revealed. Hijab is derived from Arab hajaba meaning to hide from view. The Qur’an (Koran), the Muslim sacred text, does not explicitly state a woman should have her head covered. However, there are certain verses that have been interpreted as the woman should be covered. The passages are 24:31 and 33:59 from the Quran. The first sura and verse states, “….they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what must ordinarily appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands…”. Paul, in 1st Corinthians 11: 4-10, has written the following: “Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head. And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head—it is just as though her head were shaved. If a woman does not cover her head, she should have her hair cut off; and it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut or shaved off, she should cover her head. A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man. For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. For this reason, and because of the angels, the woman ought to have a sign of authority on her head.” At one time lay women attending Mass in the Roman Catholic Church wore white doilies on their heads. Roman Catholic nuns or sisters wore habits, akin to hijabs, and a few Catholic orders still require habits to be worn. In the secular context women have worn scarfs (scarves), especially in colder Northern climates for a long time.
Might a simple explanation for this head covering issue be the mythological belief embedded in certain cultures that hair, especially long hair is symbolic of strength and masculine virility, so that women, being the “inferior” or weak partners in the scheme of creation should not emulate the male. Since women traditionally in all cultures were and are food preparers, another simple explanation is that covering hair prevents hair from becoming entangled in food and preventing disease. Hair net refers to a net or fine- meshed cap of silk or other cloth to keep the hair in place.
There are three sets of meanings to scarf. The first scarf is derived from: NormanFr escarpe; OFr escharpe meaning a purse suspended from the neck or a wallet; OldNorthernFr escarpe meaning a pilgrim’s wallet, small satchel, bag, or knapsack worn
around the neck; MFr escherpe meaning a broad band worn around the body; ML scirpa, scrippa, or scirpea meaning rush pouch or basket; L scirpeus meaning of rushes with L scirpus meaning a rush or bulrush; and Frank skerpa. Definitions are: a long or broad piece of cloth worn about the neck, head, or shoulders for warmth, protection, or decoration; to wrap around loosely; muffler, cravat, babushka, and neckerchief; a long, narrow covering for a table or bureau top; a runner; a sash worn by soldiers or officials; and to cover or drape with a scarf.
The second scarf does not show a relation to this commentary. The third definition of scarf, a slang meaning, is to consume greedily. Scot definitions of scarf are: to wrap; envelop; and the cormorant bird (also spelled scart). Some of Scot scart meanings may fit definitions of scarf and hijab. These definitions are: scared; to scratch or scrape with a sense of to scar; to strike a match; to clean any vessel with a spoon; to scrape together money; to write; to scatter; the smallest quantity of anything; a puny or meager-looking person; a saving, industrious person; and scart-free meaning safe and sound, unharmed, and free of expense. When cormorants, in the family related to ravens, dry their wings after diving, they spread them out to resemble a woman wearing a black burka with outstretched arms. Scot scargivenet refers to a girl from twelve to fourteen years of age or a half-grown woman.
The IE base sker also yields: sheath meaning a separating cover; shearwater referring to a bird literally meaning to cut-water; share; shard meaning a fragment of; score meaning to cut off; and short with a basic sense meaning to cut off or shorten an idea. The shearwater and cormorant are both diving birds. Perhaps the meaning in this context is the harvest, fruit, or idea of sustenance is hidden beneath the cloth, the flowing robes of women who wear scarfs or hijabs.
The color of hair is another symbolic aspect. According to Circlot, brown or black hair represented dark, terrestrial energy, whereas golden hair is related to the sun’s rays, and copper-colored hair implies a demonic characteristic related to Venus. (pgs. 129-130, Circlot). There are many folklore tales referencing long, golden hair of the princess or the maiden fair. Rapunzel is a tale about a young maiden with long golden colored hair, written by the Brothers Grimm in 1812. She locked up in a tower by a sorceress. A prince happens to ride by and hears her singing. He falls in love. He is able to climb up to her using her long hair as a rope. Sif, wife of the Norse god Thor, possessed long golden hair. But Loki, the trickster god, cut her hair and then became afraid of Thor’s vengeance, so he replaces Sif’s hair with even longer threads of gold. A Slavonic fairy tale, “Golden Hair”, is a story about an old king who commanded that a servant find him a wife with golden hair. The servant is successful, but with a twist he becomes the lover and replaces the old king after successfully completing the tests the old king placed before him.
Japanese favor pure black hair as a sign of the integrity of ancestral bloodlines, and the Japanese have an aversion to body hair, not head hair. Graying hair can be seen as a sign of weakness, however, in Proverbs 16:31 gray hair is a crown of glory gained in a righteous life. Regarding the Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs and hair, Bridget McDermott states, “The hair … sny/sheny, was associated with both male and female
sexuality, while an eye with eyeliner was used as a determinative in the word “beautiful”…..” (pg. 108, McDermott).
The quantity of hair displayed or not shown on an individual has taken on numerous and paradoxical meanings throughout history of humankind.
Since the 17th century, male Sikhs’ do not cut their hair and wear turbans.
There are numerous references to hair in both the Old and New Testament of the Bible, and numerous folktales. John the Baptist had long hair.
Long hair, as in the Biblical story of Samson, implies great strength. In the Roman Catholic Church a clipping or shaving of all or part of the hair on the head of clergy or monks, formerly signaled the entrance into the religious or priestly life. This ritual, according to Manley Hall, is “based upon the releasing of the spiritual consciousness through the parietal foramina, two small openings in the crown of the skull. This area was called the Gate of the Gods, and the tonsure came to represent released consciousness or use of the third eye.” (pg. 207, The Lost Keys of Freemasonry). The derivations for tonsure are: L tonsura; L tonsorius meaning of clipping with tonsor meaning clipper from tondere meaning to shear. Perhaps there is a relationship with the Muslim ritual of shaving a newborn’s head of hair on the eighth day of life, weighing it, and offering the equivalent weight of the hair in silver to charity. Note the L word tonsura is composed of the syllables ton and sura. Ton can mean a measure and sura can refer to the chapters of the Koran. Ar sura literally means enclosure. Yet L sura also refers to calf of the leg and calf can refer to offspring. Sansk sutra literally means a thread or string and linked to sew, thus yielding suture. A sutra in Hinduism refers to a precept or collection of precepts and in Buddhism a scriptural passage relating to teachings of Buddha. It seems that these rituals or customs of shaving the hair have to do with making connections with God.
There is a curious passage in Genesis 25:25 of the Biblical Old Testament. It is about the birth of twin boys, Esau and Jacob, to Isaac and Rebekah. Esau, at birth was very red and his body was hairy, unlike his brother who was the second born with “smooth skin”. Esau became a skillful hunter and a man of the open country, whereas Jacob was the quiet stay at home fellow. Isaac loved wild game. In Chapter 27 Jacob deceives his blind aged father by pretending he is the hairy Esau by wearing goat skin, presenting his father with tasty meat of wild game, thus receiving his father’s blessing. Isaac smells the wild scent of Jacob who has worn the goatskins. He recognizes the hairy hands as Esau, even though the voice is of Jacob. Then Esau shows up with his father’s favorite wild game and learns of the trickery. He too requests his fathers’ blessing. Isaac answered Esau by saying he shall live away from fertile ground and away from the “dew of heaven above”, and he will live by the sword and be subservient to Jacob. But when the time is right and you are restless you will throw this yoke from around your neck.
Esau founded the people known as the Edomites who lived southeast of the Dead Sea with both desolate desert and rugged mountains. The Edomites were the “wild people” because of their ruggedness and intermarriage with other cultures, and were eventually looked down upon by King David. This story reflects the symbolic importance of hair.
Shaggy, long haired people were characterized as rough and ill mannered. Hairy, as a slang term, also means: about the heels or hairy at the heels, associated with being uncouth or ill mannered.
Further Biblical references are given. Numbers 6:1-5 states a man shall not let a razor touch his head. He shall let his hair grow long. 1st Corinthians 11:15 states if a woman has long hair, it is her glory.
Tress is defined as a braid or plait of hair; a lock of hair; and a woman’s long hair styled to fall in a loose way. The derivations are: ME tresse; OFr and It treccia; and VL trachea meaning a plait. Trachea is derived from: ME trache; ML and LL trachea meaning windpipe; Grk plait reflecting the picture of the loose immoral woman; Grk tracheia meaning rough windpipe, from trachys meaning rough and thrassein meaning to confuse; and IE base dher meaning dark residue, dirt, and dregs. Plait is derived from ME pleit; OFr and VL plica; L plicare meaning to fold; and IE base plek meaning to entwine and related to flax. Plait is defined as: a pleat; a braid of hair or ribbon; and to pleat, braid, or interweave. Could these definitions have a bias toward the female as a temptress? See below.
Tress as a suffix is related to ster, as in spinster. If a job or task was originally done by males and eventually by women, then feminine suffixes were added as in the examples of: sempster, yielding to sempsteress, then to the shortened form semptress; or songster, to songsteress, to songstress. The suffix ster, originally ME and OE -estre (initially feminine) means someone who creates, often used in a derogatory sense, like spinster, trickster, and gangster. Ster also is a root meaning star, stiff, mattress, stretch, barren, thorn, and to steal. Since Grk trix means hair, is there a sense that tress is linked to temptress, trickster, and tricks?
Trick is derived from: ME trik; NormFr trique and trickier; OFr trichier meaning to trick or cheat; L tricare meaning to deceive; L tricar meaning to make trouble; L tricae meaning vexations and tricks; and IE base ter meaning to turn and rub yielding throw, twist, drill, pierce, thresh threshold, circle, turn, drill, throw, thread, tribulation, trauma, to overcome death, avatar, transient, savage, grim, trunk, and trench. Definitions are: an action or device designed to deceive, cheat, and outwit; artifice; dodge; ruse; illusion; clever or difficult act; any feat requiring skill; shift at work; a child or girl (maiden) viewed as pretty or cute; an act of prostitution; card played and won in a single round; and to swindle. Note Grk thrix or trichos means hair.
How did a tuft or tress of curly hair come to be called a lock? One set of lock definitions refers to hair on the head, a curl, tress, or ringlet, or a tuft of wool or cotton. The derivations are ME lokke or OE locc, OE loc, Ger locke, which mean a bend or twist, and IE leug meaning to bend. The second lock, with the same IE base leug, is derived from: ME and OE loc meaning a bolt, bar, enclosure, or prison; Ger loche meaning a hole; ON lok meaning a lid; Grk lygos meaning a supple twig; L luctari or luctare meaning to struggle or wrestle and yielding reluctant; and IE base leug meaning to bend, turn, or wind in the sense of turning the key to open the door. Perhaps there is a link between tress and lock. Does this suggest a relationship of the feminine gender to
distress? Lock has many definitions, some of which have sexual overtones of constraint. Definitions are: a mechanical device for fastening or opening a door or strongbox with a key, bolt, or hook; anything that fastens and prevents the opening, moving, or turning; jam; a canal or waterway with gates that control the depth of the water; the mechanism of a firearm that causes the explosion of the ammunition; a wrestling hold that prevents the opponents movement; to fasten something with a lock; to prevent in or out motion; shut; confine; a close fit; link; intertwine; embrace tightly; to jam or force together in a fixed position; in printing to fasten the type elements in a chase or on the bed of a press by means of wood or metal wedge; to be capable of being locked; to close tightly and firmly; to store for safe keeping; to track or follow a target; and to be assured of a desired result.
In certain fairy tales golden-haired maidens are locked up in the castle for safe keeping. The fortified inner part of a castle is called a keep, or a dungeon. Keep is derived from: ME kepen; OE cœpan meaning to behold, watch out for, lay hold of, seize, and guard; MLowG kapen; ON kopa meaning to stare at; and probably IE base ĝab meaning to look for. The definitions are: to retain possession of; to store; put customarily; to provide with the necessities of life; support; to supply with room and board for a charge; to raise and feed; to have in ready supply; to manage; conduct; tend; to maintain records; to cause to continue in the same condition or position; to reside; live; watch; stay; to attend regularly; to preserve; celebrate; livelihood; to have; to possess; protect; save; defend; detain; confine; prevent or deter; to adhere to; fulfill; to refrain from divulging; to hide or conceal; to celebrate; observe; to remain fresh; unspoiled; to restrain; hold back; to carry on; to stay in touch with; to persevere in; the main tower or donjon of a castle; a stronghold; fort; and a jail. OHG tung refers to a cellar where women weave the threads of life into form with golden threads (of hair). There are many mythological stories that relate the theme of weaving life in an underground setting. The concepts and actions of weaving, spinning tales, play a significant role in Fairy Tales and in myths all over the world. Charlotte’s Web, the Fates, Rumpelstiltzkin, and the Elves and the Shoemaker are other examples.
Locket derivations are: OFr loquat and loc meaning a latch or lock, ME loket meaning crossbar, Frank and OE loc meaning lock, and IE base leug meaning to bend, turn, and wind yielding meanings of leek, dislocation, luxury, wring, struggle, and reluctance. Locket refers to a small, hinged, ornamental case of gold or silver, for holding a picture or lock of hair. A locket can hold a lock of hair, or a picture. Locket refers to a small, hinged, ornamental case usually made of gold or silver and hung as a necklace around the neck. Lockets may contain a cut lock of hair from a lover. This can mean the bearer of the locket is locked into or bound in a relationship with the person whose’ hair has been placed in the locket. The locket, like a pendant, hangs down on the chest in front of the heart, suggesting this relationship is like a strongbox containing precious treasures. Lockets at one time were worn as good luck charms by both men and women, but are now a feminine piece of jewelry.
Flock is like a group of people bound (locked) together with common values, a herd of sheep (with curly hair), fibers of wool or cotton used for stuffing in furniture, or used in flocking.
Curl is a synonym for tress and lock. Curl is derived from: ME curlen and crullen meaning to curl, bend, or twist; ME crul; Du krul; Gmc kruzla; and IE base ger meaning to twist and turn. Curl is defined as: to wind or twist hair, threads, ribbon, or paper into ringlets or coils; to cause to roll or twist; to lift the corner of the upper lip to show disapproval, or contempt; to form curls; to form a spiral or curved shape; to move in spirals; undulate; a ringlet of hair; to roll up; and to sit or lie down with bent legs drawn to the chest.
Second part of blog BRAVE
Brave derivations are: Fr and It bravo meaning bold with an historical meaning of wild and savage; L barbarus yielding barbarous; and IE base baba yielding words and meanings of babble, grimace, foreign, rude, father, stutter and stammer. Brave can be defined in the following ways: unafraid to face danger; exhibiting a fine appearance; a N American Indian warrior; a bully; to defy; synonyms more narrowly applied are courage, bold, audacious, valiant, and intrepid. This word quest seeks to link brave, barbarian, beard, barber, bard, with hair. Hair, as a symbol in mythology, demonstrates there is a bias against men with long scraggily hair who are called unkempt, strong, and wild, and why much attention is paid to hair or the lack of it in societies. Why is it that “cruel people” are labeled as ignorant barbarians?
Scot brave can mean handsome, goodly, fine, considerable, and great.
Barbarous is derived from: L barbarus and Grk barbaros meaning foreign, strange, and ignorant; Sansk barbara meaning stammering, and IE base baba or barbar meaning unintelligible speech of foreigners. Barbarous originally meant foreign or alien in the ancient world when describing non-Greeks, non-Romans, or non-Christians.
Modern meanings are: a description of substandard speaking or writing; uncivilized; uncultured; crude; coarse; rough; cruel; brutal; and raucous. Barbarism is linked to solecism. Solecism, derived from Grk soloikos meaning speaking incorrectly, is defined as: a violation of the conventional usage and grammar of a language; ungrammatical use of words; a mistake or impropriety; a vilation of good manners; and a breach of etiquette. A barbarian is also known as a primitive and a boor. A boor is a peasant, a farm worker, or a rude, awkward, or ill-mannered individual. Boor is derived from Du boer and MDu gheboer meaning a fellow dweller with IE base ghe meaning with and bouwen meaning to build and cultivate, and Ger bauer. These roots are linked to bondage.
Brave, civilized, intelligent peoples, in attempting to influence barbarous peoples, usually through force or compulsion, slavery or servitude, saw these as mighty righteous actions to either save them from damnation in “a Christian sense”, or to strengthen their
own civilization, or both. Boor and boer are linked with Boer meaning a South African whose ancestors were Dutch. The Boer War, fought in 1899-1902, was between the Boers and the British.
Beard, barber, barb, and berber are derived from L barba. The Barbary Coast, once inhabited by Berbers, is located in the coastal region of N Africa. During the gold rush, the waterfront district of San Francisco, known for its gambling, saloons, and brothels, was called the Barbary Coast.
Beard is derived from: L barba; ME berd; OE beard; Scot baird; Russ borodá; Gmc barda; Ger bart; and IE base bhardhā. The Grk genias, and genados means beard and Grk geneiates means bearded. Also Grk pogon or pogonos means beard. Beard can be defined in the following ways: hair growing on the lower jaw; whiskers; any beardlike growth in animals or shell fish; a hairy outgrowth found on some grains and grasses; a barb or hook that projects like a beard; part of printing type found between the face and shoulder; to face or oppose with courage, as in grasping by the beard, pulling hair; defy; to provide a beard. Beardless means: to be without hair on the chin; too young to have a beard; or young and callow with the sense of nakedness and immaturity. The Taliban require male recruits to have a beard. Beard-tongue is a horticultural description of a beard, tongue like stamen, also called a penstemon. Pogonia is the name of an American orchid. This stamen is the one sterile stamen found in a cluster of five of the figwort family. Penstemon is linked with hair, sexual reproduction, and the idea that people labeled barbarians should not reproduce because bloodline is often equated with brute strength and barbarism.
Scot baird has meanings of: beard; to rub with the beard; and to caparison with definitions of a covering, a hooded cloak, to adorn with rich clothing, and to deck out. In the Scot definitions there is a sense that a beard belongs to a man that is rich, or powerful, or a monk or priest reflecting wisdom.
If Grk pogon is separated into po and gon, then po can mean power and gon can refer to angle of the jaw or chin. In this latter interpretation the Egyptian ankh, a symbol of life and soul, may be linked. The Ancient Egyptian Pharoahs wore fake beards that had a hook towards the end. This was like an uncus meaning a hooked process, with uncus having an IE base of ank or ang related to Grk gonia meaning an angle and yielding knee. An unusual definition of knee is anything resembling or suggestive of a bent knee as woody growth on certain trees. The pharaoh, wearing this woody fake beard would have been symbolic in representing the “Tree of Life”. Po as an IE base can mean to drink, potion, and feast, and is probably related to IE base poti meaning master or someone having great power.
The beard grows from the chin. L mentum means the chin and mental has an IE base of men meaning to project. The mentalis muscle functions to raise and wrinkle the skin of the chin and push up or project the lower lip. This function serves to express facial doubt, pride, or serious contemplation of a problem. The beard can represent wisdom. Sculptors and artists often depict the “thinking person” as resting the chin on the cupped hand. Members of the ape family are often seen in this pose. Are they also
thinking? Ancient Egyptian pharaohs, male and female, often wore fake beards tied around the neck. The beards were longer toward the bottom or long, narrow, and plaited with the end jutting out like a hook. Pharonic statues were also depicted with these beards. Certain tribes in South America, such as the Aimboré (Botocudo is the Portugese name), wear a wooden plug called a tembeitera in the lower lip. When looking at a profile of these people, they appear to have beards that stick out, just like the Pharoahs of Egypt. Recall the function of the mentalis muscle. Could this custom be tied to ancient history when bearded wise men from foreign lands visited the Incas and Aztecs? The indigenous peoples of South America generally do not have much facial body hair and the men may not be able to grow beards. So did fake beards, symbolizing wisdom and the ability to speak, come into fashion for this reason? Another term for this wooden plug is labret, defined as an ornament of wood or bone, worn, as by some S American Indians, in a hole pierced through the lip. This labret was also worn among the females of the Tlinget, Tsimshian, and Haida of the Northwest Coastal Indian tribes. This lip plug showed a girl was eligible for marriage, the larger the plug, the higher the social status.
Today a woman may have just a silver pin piercing the lower lip, since this custom has lost favor. (pg. 27, From the Land of the Totem Poles, by Jonaitis).
Beards can have pointed ends and/or have hooks projecting at the end. There are links among hook, hake, hawk, hack, hackle, and collar. Hook, derived from OE hoc meaning hake and IE keg meaning a peg for hanging, has definitions of: a curved or bent piece of wood or metal used to catch, hold, attract, or pull something; and an anchor.
Hake with one derivation of ON haki meaning a hook like the shape of a jaw plus the IE keg, refers to the silver hake fish. This fish has a hook-like fin. In the WNWD the two words following hake are Ar hakim meaning wise, learned, and physician, and Ar hākim meaning a governor, ruler, or judge. Hake is linked to cause and code (L coda meaning tail). Scot barbet refers to an arrow. Barbet, from Fr barbe meaning beard, refers to brightly colored birds having as large, strong bill with bristles at its base.
Closely related to the derivations of hook are hawk and hawker meaning a dealer or trader, and falconer. Hawk also means to cough. Hack, sharing the same derivations, can also refer to a rough, dry cough. Hack is further defined as: to cut crudely or roughly; to shape or trim with rough strokes; to deal with or carry out successfully; and a rack for holding food. Food can easily become caught in the beard, as food for thought could become caught in the beard as symbolic of wisdom. The cutting of hair in early times may have been like hacking away at hair in a rough or crude way. Hack is linked to hew with meanings of to strike, hammer, and forge. Hackle refers to the long, slender feathers at the neck of a rooster or peacock, or to cut roughly.
Cause has a weak linguistic link to hew. One derivation of cause is L causidical or causidicālis meaning cause-saying, which relates to the wearing of the beard by the Egyptian Pharaoh who speaks the law and keeps order in the society over which he or she rules. Collar, derived from L collare meaning a band or chain for the neck and IE base kwel meaning to turn yielding wheel, is defined as: the part of a garment that encircles the neck; a cloth band or folded-over piece attached to the neck of a garment; a distinctive band, as of a different color or texture around the neck of an animal or bird; and to take hold or control of. The clerical collar is a stiff, white collar buttoned at the back, and
worn by certain members of the clergy. This collar represents power of clergy or priests as ordained for religious service. This collar is sometimes interrupted by a rectangular band of a different color located in the front near the throat. Is this like a small beard?
The neck and throat areas have always been an area of adornment with neckties, bowties, necklaces and jewelry, collars, and beards. An exploration of tie definitions offers explanations for these adornments. The verb tie is derived from: ME tien; OE tigan, tegan, and teag meaning a rope; and IE base deuk meaning to pull, to lead, and yielding tow, duct, educate, draw, and taut. The definitions are: to fasten, attach, or bind together with string, cord, or rope made by knotting; to draw or join parts together by tightening or knotting; to make a knot or bow; to confine; restrain; to equal the score; to equal; to join in marriage; and to bond together in some way.
The noun tie is derived from ME tege and teige, and OE teag or teah. Definitions are: a string, lace, or cord used to tie things; something that connects, binds, or joins; link; bond; a beam or rod that holds together the parts of a building and strengthens against stress; a contest in which there is equality; draw; stalemate; in music a curved line that joins two notes of the same pitch, indicating that the tone is to be held unbroken for the duration of their combined values. The long necktie lies in front of the windpipe and esophagus, perhaps symbolizing the ability to speak and digest ideas. The knot represents the coming together of all the parts of speech with the intent to communicate or weave or spin a tale. Tie is linked to tow. Tow can mean to pull, to be under one’s control or charge; and OE tow meaning the coarse and broken fibers of hemp or flax before spinning. This tow is linked to taw meaning to prepare for further refinement with IE base deu meaning to work on or process.
The chin is a part of the anatomy used to symbolize and measure strength. Chin is derived from OE cin; Goth kinnus meaning cheek; L gena meaning cheek; Grk genys meaning chin; and IE base genu meaning chin or jawbone and yielding genial and hanuman from Sansk hanu meaning jaw. Another IE genu base has meanings of knee, angle, corner, and genuflect. Chinning means: to pull oneself up, while hanging by the hands from a horizontal bar, until the chin is just above the level of the bar; to converse idly; and chat or gossip, again reflecting the idea of strength. Phrases using chin are: “keep one’s chin up” meaning to bear up bravely under trying circumstances, and “to take it on the chin” meaning to suffer defeat or severe hardship.
Barb can also refer to a beard, but it has a host of other meanings. Barb has two ssets of definitions. The first is derived from ME and OFr barbe and L barba meaning beard. This barb is defined as: a small beardlike growth in certain animals and fish; a piece of white linen, used by certain nuns for covering the throat or chin; a sharp pointed, curved projection fashioned in the opposite direction from the main stem as in a fishhook, harpoon, or arrow; sharpness; a stinger; a cutting remark; and a hair like branch growing from the shaft of a feather. The second barb is derived from Fr barbe meaning Barbary horse; It barbero; Ar Barbar referring to the Berber people. Definitions are: a horse native to N Africa noted for speed, strength, and gentle behavior, and used by the Berbers; and a breed of pigeon like a carrier pigeon.
There are many “Bluebeard Tales” found in many cultures. Clarissa Pinkola Estés in her book, “Women Who Run with the Wolves”, writes extensively about this story as the battle women have with their wild, intuitive nature opposed to those predatory forces, which enslave or tame the “anima” and leave women weak and visionless. The barb or beard in this sense can be related to the white linen that covered the throat of nuns as a symbol of concealing verbal expression of that “wild, natural woman”. Barb can also represent a phallic symbol as an arrow, or a projection that stings or cuts. The blue, perhaps, represents that “spirit” as the “blueprint” or original persona of male and female. In the context of “blue beard” tales about a male that preys on the female, Estés describes this character as a masculine dark force contending for control of the female’s power, yearnings, and love, and who cuts off the feminine ideas, feelings, and actions. But this dark character is a teacher for women (and also for men) who require healing of wounded relationships. The task is to transform the predator that resides within the psyche of each one of us. (pgs. 20, 40-65, 380, 434, and 435).
Beards symbolize manhood, heroes, kings, gods, wisdom and strength, and sexuality. Hans Biederman makes the following points about beards:
- Heroes, kings, and gods, unless their youthfulness was to be expressed, were always portrayed with beards.
- The Ancient Egyptian, Queen Hatshesut, was portrayed with a beard on the chin to indicate royal power.
- Famous Chinese men are portrayed with beards in art and literature. In N China a red beard was a symbol of strength and valor.
- Specific gods in pre-Columbian S America, like Quetzalcóatl, had beards. The Mayan god, Kukulcan, literally meant “feathered serpent”.
- In Minoan Crete men were pictured without beards, but in the time of Homer the hair on the upper lip was shaved.
- In Rome, before the reign of Constantine, facial hair was shaved. Full beards were grown after the time of Hadrian.
- During the Byzantine Empire the emperor was clean-shaven. Eastern Orthodox priests wore beards.
- Roman Catholic priests usually were clean-shaven, but monks had beards and shaving was considered a sign of vanity.
- Christ was painted as a beardless youth in early Christian art.
- In Islam there is a saying, taken like an oath “by the beard of the Prophet”; a hair from Muhammad’s beard is a treasured relic in Srinagar.
Bizarre apparently is rooted in a hair and brave context. Bizarre is derived from: It bizarre meaning angry, fierce, strange, or capricious; Sp bizarre or bizzaro meaning bold, brave, and knightly; and Basque bizar. Definitions are: very odd in manner or appearance; grotesque; marked by extreme contrasts and incongruities of color, design, or style; unexpected and unbelievable; and fantastic. Zar of bizar may possibly be related to Heb sar meaning prince, and czar with definitions of emperor, a person with great or unlimited power, and an autocrat.
Shave has contributions to make to this commentary. It is derived from: ME shaven; OE sceafan; Ger schabeb; L scabere meaning to shave or scratch; and IE base (s)kab or (s)kep meaning to cut and linked to hatchet, scab, shabby, capon (a castrated cock), comma shaft, score, curt, carnal, scrub (relating to rough), and screw. These latter words have sexual and barbaric references, as well as slut mentioned below. Definitions are: to cut or scrape away a thin slice from something; to cut off hair to surface of skin; to cut the beard; to barely touch; to graze; to cut short; and to trim. Joseph Shipley, in his Dictionary of Word Origins says, “This daily practice of any man that’s not a barbarian
… akin to L scabere, to scratch, whence Eng. scabies. Eng. scab is OE. sceabb, influenced by, and probably from, the same root. Early Du. schabbe was used figuratively, to mean slut; hence, scab, a scurvy fellow—whence the use, first in the U.S., of scab in labor disputes. Scurvy is the adjective from scurf, from OE. sceorfan, to gnaw, scearfian, to cut to shreds—stronger members of the shaving family.” L villus meaning shaggy hair is linked to villain. L irrasus means unshaved with ras (and rad) a L root meaning scrape and ir meaning not, literally meaning not scraped.
Shaver can refer to a young boy or lad, or to a person who is difficult to deal with (hard to cut a deal). A “close shave” means a narrow escape from death or harm, and is close to the meaning to “miss by a hair”. An unruly male child, during certain clashes of power and concern over bloodlines during the Middle Ages of Europe, might be banished from the family and placed in a religious order, which required members to cut the hair, perhaps into the style of a tonsure. The purpose in some instances was to keep the child “in line”.
The quantity of hair displayed or not shown on an individual has taken on numerous and paradoxical meanings throughout history of humankind. Recall that long hair, as in the Biblical story of Samson, implies great strength. In the Roman Catholic Church a clipping or shaving of all or part of the hair on the head of clergy or monks, formerly signaled the entrance into the religious or priestly life. This ritual, according to Manley Hall, is “based upon the releasing of the spiritual consciousness through the parietal foramina, two small openings in the crown of the skull. This area was called the Gate of the Gods, and the tonsure came to represent released consciousness or use of the third eye.” (pg. 207, The Lost Keys of Freemasonry). The derivations for tonsure are: L tonsura; L tonsorius meaning of clipping with tonsor meaning clipper from tondere meaning to shear. Perhaps there is a relationship with the Muslim ritual of shaving a newborn’s head of hair on the eighth day of life, weighing it, and offering the equivalent weight of the hair in silver to charity. Note the L word tonsura is composed of the syllables ton and sura. Ton can mean a measure and sura can refer to the chapters of the Koran. Ar sura literally means enclosure. Yet L sura also refers to calf of the leg and calf
can refer to offspring. Sansk sutra literally means a thread or string and linked to sew, thus yielding suture. A sutra in Hinduism refers to a precept or collection of precepts and in Buddhism a scriptural passage relating to teachings of Buddha. It seems that these rituals or customs of shaving the hair have to do with making connections with God.
There is a curious passage in Genesis 25:25 of the Biblical Old Testament. It is about the birth of twin boys, Esau and Jacob, to Isaac and Rebekah. Esau, at birth was very red and his body was hairy, unlike his brother who was the second born with “smooth skin”. Esau became a skillful hunter and a man of the open country, whereas Jacob was the quiet stay at home fellow. Isaac loved wild game. In Chapter 27 Jacob deceives his blind aged father by pretending he is the hairy Esau by wearing goat skin, presenting his father with tasty meat of wild game, thus receiving his father’s blessing. Isaac smells the wild scent of Jacob who has worn the goatskins. He recognizes the hairy hands as Esau, even though the voice is of Jacob. Then Esau shows up with his father’s favorite wild game and learns of the trickery. He too requests his fathers’ blessing. Isaac answered Esau by saying he shall live away from fertile ground and away from the “dew of heaven above”, and he will live by the sword and be subservient to Jacob. But when the time is right and you are restless you will throw this yoke from around your neck.
Esau founded the people known as the Edomites who lived southeast of the Dead Sea with both desolate desert and rugged mountains. The Edomites were the “wild people” because of their ruggedness and intermarriage with other cultures, and were eventually looked down upon by King David. This story reflects the symbolic importance of hair. Shaggy, long haired people were characterized as rough and ill mannered. Hairy, as a slang term, also means: about the heels or hairy at the heels, associated with being uncouth or ill mannered.
Beard is also linked to awn and awning. Awn is the bristle like fibers on the head of barley, oats, and wheat, and is also called the beard. Awn is derived from: ME aune; ON agnir; OE egenu; Goth ahana; L agna; and IE aken with IE base ak meaning sharp yielding: edge; ear; acute; hammer; heaven; vinegar; acid; and point. Awning is derived from MFr auvans and auvent meaning a sloping roof, and OProv amban meaning a parapet of a fortification. An awning is a canvas, metal, or cloth structure extended out over a window, door, patio, or deck to provide protection from sun or rain. In what sense does beard or hair provide protection? This appears to have sexual and religious connotations. For example, there could be a spiritual or metaphysical meaning to the shaving of the baby’s head in the eighth day of life in the Muslim tradition to shine like the moon, which is associated with silver. In this case the awning or the shade is removed in order that the crown receive the full light of the sun, a “dawning”.
Barber is derived from ME, and OFr barbour; ML barbator; and L barba. The definition is a person whose line of work is to cut hair, shave, or trim beards. Historically a barber not only cut hair, but also pulled teeth, performed simple surgery, and bled patients with leeches for health reasons. Ger frisor means barber with related words meaning curled hair as in Fr friseur meaning a hairdresser, or frizz meaning small tight curls. Frisian refers to people of the Frisian Islands, peoples of an ancient Germanic tribe of Northern Holland, or the West German language spoken by Frisians.
Bibliography
Biedermann, Hans. Dictionary of Symbolism: Cultural Icons and the Meanings Behind Them. Translated by James Hulbert. New York: Meridian Books, 1994.
Circlot, Juan Eduardo. A Dictionary of Symbols. Translated by Jack Sage. New York: Philosophical Library, 1962.
Hall, Manley P. The Lost Keys of Freemasonry. New York: Jeremy P Tarcher, 2006.
Jonaitis, Aldona. From the Land of the Totem Poles: The Northwest Coast Indian Art Collection at the American Museum of Natural History. American Museum of Natural History: University of Washington Press, 1988, pg. 27.
McDermott, Bridget. Decoding Egyptian Hieroglyphs. San Francisco: Chronicle Books LLC, 2001.
Walker, Barbara G. The Woman’s Dictionary of Symbols and Sacred Objects: New York: Harper 7 Row, 1988.
HAIR/BRAVE Commentary
Hair style, length, color, and texture are sensitive to cultural norms. This commentary explores hair plus the relationship to brave.
This part of the commentary explores hair and words akin to hair.
Hair is derived from and linked to: ME here or her; OE hær; Ger haar; Frank harja; OFr haire meaning hair or shirt; Grk komē; Grk dasys; Grk etheira; Grk chaite meaning long hair or mane; Grk lasios; Grk thrix or trichos; L villus; L pappas; L pilus; L crinus; L capillus; L coma meaning hair of the head and foliage; L hirsurus; and IE base ker(s) meaning to bristle and IE kes with meanings of scratch; snug; razor; to cut; fortified place; castle; chaste; pure; caste; chaste; castigate; to lack and empty or void.. Grk trix also means hair or three-fold. L –trix is a suffix (feminine) meaning an agent or doer of action. Hair can be defined as: thread like filaments growing from the skin of animals or humans; material woven from hair; a very small space, margin, or degree; and threadlike growths on plants. Refer to the Biblical Old Testament story of Jacob and Esau, where Jacob tricked his father into believing he was the hairy son, (Esau was hairy), in order to receive the father’s blessing of first born. This story is also in the brave commentary.
There are many slang phrases and colloquialisms using hair, indicating the importance of the symbolic nature of hair. Hairy either means covered with a lot of hair, fraught with difficulties, or a harrowing experience. An annoyance is described as “getting in one’s hair”. Scot hairy can mean the devil. Hairbreath means extremely close. Hairline may refer to a type of bone fracture, or the outline of hair on the front of the head. A sharp U turn can be referred to as a hairpin turn. Excitement or terror can be a hair-raising event or it can make one’s hair stand on end. Don’t get gray hairs over a problem, or when feeling exasperated or frustrated a person might want to pull their hair out. To let one’s hair down is to be laid back, relaxed, or informal. The idea of counting hairs is to be exact or right in all the details. Unreasonable fine distinctions or quibbling can be hair splitting. A hair trigger means extreme sensitivity to pressure, for example of a gun’s trigger mechanism. Hair brained or hare brained are phrases meaning to have or show little sense, be reckless, flighty, giddy, or rash. The hare or rabbit exhibit flight behavior.
Hair in OFr means to hate and yields heinous, which means wicked, evil, and abominable. Hirsute means hairy, bristly, or shaggy and is linked with the L word hircine for goat (and the goat’s smell). Hircine is also derived from IE root gherkwo with IE base ĝhers meaning to bristle and linked to horrid.
L pilus means hair which is linked to pile. Pile can refer to: a heap of wood or other burnable material on which a corpse or sacrifice is burned; a large building or group of buildings, including religious buildings and temples; an arrangement of dissimilar metal plates that produce an electric current; hair; a heavy beam driven into the ground to support a surface structure; and in heraldry a wedge-shaped bearing with the point facing
downward. Piles refer to hemorrhoids with ME pylys, L pilae and pila meaning a ball initially a knot of hair. Pileus, derived from L pilleum meaning a felt cap, refers to a brimless cap worn in ancient Rome, the cap of a mushroom, the umbrella-shaped disk of a jellyfish, and pileum. A pileum is the top of a bird’s head from the bill to the nape.
Pelage means a coat or covering of hair or fur of a mammal. In many L and Grk words beginning with pel, there is a sense of fertility, water, hair as a protection, earth, and skin. Pelerine, derived from Fr pelerin meaning a pilgrim and L peregrinus meaning foreigner, is defined as a women’s fur cape tapering to long points in the front.
Pill is derived from ME pilien meaning to rob and peel, and L pilare meaning to make bald. Definitions are to pillage, plunder, or peel. Peel has three sets of meanings. The first peel set is derived from: ME pilien or peolien; OE pilian; L pilare meaning to make bald and related to pile. Definitions are: to cut away or strip off; pare; shed skin or bark; to come off in layers; to undress; the rind or skin of fruit; to abruptly veer away from a flight formation; to depart; leave; and go in another direction. The second peel, derived from ME pele, OFr pala meaning a spade, refers to a long shovel-like tool used by bakers for moving bread in or out of ovens. The third peel, derived from ME pel, OFr pel meaning a fort or stake, L palus, and IE pak meaning to fasten, refers to a fortified house or tower built during the 16th cent. between Scotland and England.
Rug has a link to hair. Rug is derived from: Scand and Norw rugga meaning a coarse coverlet; Swed rug meaning shaggy hair; ON rogg meaning long hair; and IE base reu meaning to tear out. Rug is defined as a piece of thick, napped fabric, woven in strips of rag or animal pelts and used as a floor covering. Rug is sometimes used in place of the word carpet, but there are differences. A carpet usually covers the entire floor, where as a rug may not. Rugged is closely linked to rug and is defined as: having irregular projections and depressions; uneven in surface or contour; rough; wrinkled; strong, irregular, and wrinkled, as in facial features; stormy; tempestuous; sounding harsh; severe; hard; stern; robust; sturdy; vigorous; and an action requiring great skill, strength, and endurance.
Bald, implying the absence of hair, has meanings that are associated with weakness, religious norms and rituals, truth, and cleanliness. Derivations are: ME balled; Or bal meaning ball; Grk phalos meaning white and phalakros meaning bald; and IE base bhel meaning gleaming and white. Bald means: the white fur or feathers on the head of certain animals and birds such as the bald eagle; an absence of hair on the head; an area not covered by natural growth; bare; and unadorned. Bare, bold, brave, fertility and strength are all intertwined with hair, as well as barren, naked, weak, threadbare, poor, uncover, strip, and expose.
Fell has five sets of definitions which essentially deal with hair or fur as coverings or styles of hair linked to cultural norms showing strength, bravery, brutality, and coverings humans use to hide body areas. How do these definitions relate to the “fall of man” as given in the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden?
The first fell is directly related to fall with the same derivations. Fall derivations are: ME fallen; OE feallan; Ger fallen; Lith púolu; and IE base phol meaning to fall. Fall has many meanings and it is used in many colloquial phrases. Basically, it is related to the effect of gravity on a body and the idea of a light object becoming heavy. The following represent the variety of meanings: to lose power; descend suddenly; lose status as in the “fall of man” or as applied to women who lose chastity; loss of dignity; to be divided; to fell a tree; the number of animals in a litter; the season of fall or autumn; a water fall; a long tress of a women’s hair; and to fall ill or into another condition.
Colloquialisms have specific directions as in: fall in; fall out; fall down; fall back or behind; fall off; fall over; and fall for. Consider why “humans fall in love”! To “fall in love” is recognition of other who is different from self and an acceptance of our dual nature, where in order to become unified one must merge with one’s opposite. So, does “falling in love” imply that the persons or persons involved are falling “out of control”? People in love can be “swept off their feet”. In what direction does one fall when falling in love? What is the final destination of the fall? Does the fall stop when a resistance is met?
There are words beginning with fall that generally mean fail. They are fallacious, fallacy, and fallible. Fallacy is derived from: ME fallace; L fallacia meaning deception and artifice; L fallax and fallacies meaning deceitful with L fallere meaning to deceive or disappoint; and IE base ghwel meaning to bend or deviate and yielding fail. Definitions are: deception; aptness to mislead; delusive quality; a false or mistaken idea, opinion; error; an error in reasoning; flaw or defect in argument; and in logic an argument which does not conform to the rules of logic, but appears to be sound. Fallible shares the same derivations plus ME and ML fallibilis. Definitions are liable to be mistaken or deceived, and liable to be erroneous or inaccurate.
The second fell, derived from ME fellen or fellan, Gmc falljan, and IE base phol meaning to fall, to fell, or a happening. Definitions are: to cause to fall; knock down an opponent; to cut down; and to turn over the rough edge of a seam and sew down flat; and the trees cut down in one season.
The third fell is derived from: ME fel; and OFr and ML fello as related to felon. This fell refers to: fierce; terrible; cruel; and deadly as in the phrases: “felled by a single blow” or “one fell swoop” meaning one single action or effort is completely effective or devastating.
The fourth fell is derived from: ME fel; OE and Ger fell; L pellis; and IE pel meaning skin or hide. Definitions are: an animal skin or a thin membrane of tissue under the skin. The last fell is derived from: ME fel; Scand and ON fjall meaning mountain; Ger fels meaning rock or cliff; MIr all meaning crag; Grk pella meaning stone; and IE base pels. The meaning is a rocky or barren hill, a moor or a down.
Felt can be made of hair. Felt derivations are: ME, OE, Ger filz; Du filt with basic sense of a cloth made by pounding or beating; L pellare meaning to beat or drive; and IE base pel with one set of meanings yielding skin, hide, fell, film, pelt, surplice, and shield. Definitions are: a fabric of wool, often mixed with fur or hair, or with other types
of fibers that are worked together by pressure, heat, or chemical action, rather than by weaving or knitting; any fabric or material with a fuzzy, springy surface; and to become matted together.
Chaeta is derived from: ModL and Grk chaitē referring to long hair or a mane; Avestan gaēsa; and IE base ghait meaning curly hair. Chaeta refers to a bristle like projection, or seta, which is part of an organ. Seta is derived from: ModL and L seta or saeta meaning stiff hair or bristle; OE sal meaning rope; and IE base sei meaning cord and linked to sinew. Sinew is derived from: ME and OE seonwe and seonu meaning oblique form; OHG senawa; ON sin; L saeta meaning bristle; Sansk sinati meaning to tie; and IE base sēi meaning to bind or a band. Sinew definitions are: a tendon; muscular power; strength; force; and any source of power. Seti, derived from L saeta meaning stiff hair is a combining form meaning bristle, used in combination with another word such as setiform. Seti, the first Pharaoh of the 19th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt’s New Kingdom, was a very strong ruler who extended the influence and boundaries of Egypt. Chaeta may also be linked to the cheetah, an animal known for muscular power in the legs.
Down is soft, fine hair. Down also gives a sense of toward the ground, of lying or reclining, or from a higher to a lower position. The IE base is dheu which yields the following words and meanings: be turbid; to fly like dust; dull; dusk; dumb; hill; dune; dew; diminish; and death and die. Grk chnoos or chnous means fine down or any light substance, foam, froth, or bloom. Other words meaning hair and down are Grk pappos and L pappus. An Indian word from the Narragansett tribe is papoos meaning child.
Perhaps there is a connection, since the young child may have more down than hair. Pekoe, a fine grade of tea, is made from the small leaves at the tips of the stems, while the leaves still have down on them. In the Amoy Chinese dialect, pek-ho means white down.
Hair, fur, pelt, or hide were basic forms of protection and source of warmth for early humans. As the definitions are read, notice the references to male dominance over the female, the relationship of female coverings which hide the skin, such as the burka, and the indication of fighting. Fight has an IE base of pek meaning to pluck hair and L pecton meaning comb. See comb below.
Fur is derived from: ME furre and furrure meaning fur lining or blanket; OFr fourrure and fuerre meaning sheath or lining; Frank fodr; Ger futter; Grk poimen; Sansk pala meaning shepherd; and IE base po meaning to tend flocks, cover, and protect.
Definitions are: soft, thickhair covering the body of many mammals; dressed pelt; any garment, neckpiece, trimming made of fur skins; any furlike or fuzzy coating; and to become coated with a deposit. The aphorism, “to make the fur fly”, has meanings of to cause dissension or fighting, and to accomplish very quickly. Pelt has two sets of definitions. The first pelt may be related to pellet. Definitions are: to throw things at; strike with or as with missiles; to beat or pound heavily and repeatedly; to rush or hurry; and a blow. The second pelt, derived from OFr peleterie yielding peltry, is defined as the skin of a fur-bearing animal and the human skin. Hide has three sets of definitions.
The first hide is derived from: ME hiden; OE hydan; Grk keuthrein; and IE base
skeu meaning to cover or conceal and yielding sky, skin, scum, obscure, cutaneous,
hoard, sheath and vulva, hut, and hide. Definitions are: to put or keep out of sight; secrete; conceal; to turn away; and a place of concealment for an observer or hunter. The second hide is derived from OE hid; Ger haut; L cutis meaning skin; Grk kytos meaning hollow container; and IE base skeut or skeup meaning cluster, tuft, and hair of the head and yielding sheaf, and hop (plant). Definitions are: an animal skin or pelt; the skin of a person; to beat severely or flog. The third hide is derived from: OE higid and hiwan meaning household; OHG hiwo meaning husband and master of a household; Grk koitos bed or sleep; L civis meaning citizen; and IE base kei with meanings to lie, bed, beloved, dear or camp and yielding hind, hide, city, cradle, cemetery, and Shiva. The definition is an old English unit of land measure varying from 60 to 120 acres.
Hare is probably related. Hare is derived from: OE hara; Ger hase; L canus meaning hoary; and IE base kas meaning gray with the connotation that a gray animal is linked with a taboo name. Hares similar to rabbits, have longer ears and hind legs and give birth to active already furred young. Hares and rabbits reproduce quickly which makes the animal a symbol of fertility and sexual passion. As noted above a harebrained scheme makes little sense and is reckless.
Coma Berenices or in L Berenice’s Hair is a constellation containing the north galactic pole. The feminine name, Bernice, means bringer of victory and derived from L pherein meaning to bear plus nikē meaning victory. Grk kometes literally means longhaired star, with Grk kome meaning hair.
The comb is used in the care of the hair. According to Barbara Walker, female hair combing was mythologically associated with control of the weather and the appearance of goddess images, and in Tantric and Oriental religions the braiding or binding of hair versus the idea of loose hair, was associated with creative and destructive forces. In one version of the rebirth of an Ancient Egyptian god Walker states, “The hair of the Goddess Isis carried magical powers of protection, resurrection, and reincarnation; she gave rebirth to Osiris-Horus by “shaking out her hair over him.” (pg. 313). She goes on to say the hair of Isis represents the thicket of reeds that shielded her child from danger, and that hair was like falling water. (pg. 129). The hair of mythological figures such as Gorgon and Medusa was imaged as snakes, or perhaps electric eels. Walker states, “Blood figured prominently in the myth of Medusa. Even as she died, her blood gave birth to the lunar horse ….Pegasus. Her serpent like hairs symbolized menstrual secrets: the mystic combination of woman and serpent that men feared and diabolized in nearly all mythologies. Even in the Middle Ages, men were still insisting that the hair of a menstruating woman, buried in the ground by moonlight, would turn into a snake.” (pg. 255). The folktale that bats can become entangled in a woman’s long hair originates with the belief that bats are associated with demons who came out in the night ready to attack the innocent soul and suck the blood of rebirth. So why are women required to cover their hair in so many places around the globe?
According to Circlot, head hair symbolizes spiritual forces and body hair symbolizes animal or lower instincts. In many ancient religious practices the body and head hair of priests was shaved off. The ancient Egyptian priests, priestesses, and those who served in the temples are shaven. Ancient Egyptians commonly used wigs. Hair
scarfs worn by Muslim women cover the hair to symbolize the women’s’ role, especially signifying fertility, with reference to the dominant male. Showing hair to strangers or men other than family members would be considered disrespectful and a challenge to their strength. Only the husband is to see the full “strength” of his wife’s head of hair. So, hair can represent fertility. This suggests the reason women wear hijabs or burkas in the Islamic faith. Arab barqa’a means to veil or drape. Arab burqu’ or bardqi’ means a long veil worn by women leaving only the eyes exposed. Could Arab barq or burq meaning lightning, flash of lightning, and telegraph be related to the idea that the female who radiates light must cover this light and be kept in darkness and remain mysterious, or hide the light so she does not attract men, or could it be just the opposite that the female is protected from the lightning rod of the male (penis)? Arab barraq means shining, lustrous, sparkling, flashing, glittering, and twinkling.
Most Muslim women cover themselves with the hijab, a long, loose fitting cloak or dress covering the arms and legs with a head scarf covering the hair and neck so that no head hair is revealed. Hijab is derived from Arab hajaba meaning to hide from view. The Qur’an (Koran), the Muslim sacred text, does not explicitly state a woman should have her head covered. However, there are certain verses that have been interpreted as the woman should be covered. The passages are 24:31 and 33:59 from the Quran. The first sura and verse states, “….they should not display their beauty and ornaments except what must ordinarily appear thereof; that they should draw their veils over their bosoms and not display their beauty except to their husbands…”. Paul, in 1st Corinthians 11: 4-10, has written the following: “Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head. And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head
—it is just as though her head were shaved. If a woman does not cover her head, she should have her hair cut off; and it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut or shaved off, she should cover her head. A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man. For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. For this reason, and because of the angels, the woman ought to have a sign of authority on her head.” At one time lay women attending Mass in the Roman Catholic Church wore white doilies on their heads. Roman Catholic nuns or sisters wore habits, akin to hijabs, and a few Catholic orders still require habits to be worn. In the secular context women have worn scarfs (scarves), especially in colder Northern climates for a long time.Might a simple explanation for this head covering issue be the mythological belief embedded in certain cultures that hair, especially long hair is symbolic of strength and masculine virility, so that women, being the “inferior” or weak partners in the scheme of creation should not emulate the male. Since women traditionally in all cultures were and are food preparers, another simple explanation is that covering hair prevents hair from becoming entangled in food and preventing disease. Hair net refers to a net or fine- meshed cap of silk or other cloth to keep the hair in place.
There are three sets of meanings to scarf. The first scarf is derived from: NormanFr escarpe; OFr escharpe meaning a purse suspended from the neck or a wallet; OldNorthernFr escarpe meaning a pilgrim’s wallet, small satchel, bag, or knapsack worn
around the neck; MFr escherpe meaning a broad band worn around the body; ML scirpa, scrippa, or scirpea meaning rush pouch or basket; L scirpeus meaning of rushes with L scirpus meaning a rush or bulrush; and Frank skerpa. Definitions are: a long or broad piece of cloth worn about the neck, head, or shoulders for warmth, protection, or decoration; to wrap around loosely; muffler, cravat, babushka, and neckerchief; a long, narrow covering for a table or bureau top; a runner; a sash worn by soldiers or officials; and to cover or drape with a scarf.
The second scarf does not show a relation to this commentary. The third definition of scarf, a slang meaning, is to consume greedily. Scot definitions of scarf are: to wrap; envelop; and the cormorant bird (also spelled scart). Some of Scot scart meanings may fit definitions of scarf and hijab. These definitions are: scared; to scratch or scrape with a sense of to scar; to strike a match; to clean any vessel with a spoon; to scrape together money; to write; to scatter; the smallest quantity of anything; a puny or meager-looking person; a saving, industrious person; and scart-free meaning safe and sound, unharmed, and free of expense. When cormorants, in the family related to ravens, dry their wings after diving, they spread them out to resemble a woman wearing a black burka with outstretched arms. Scot scargivenet refers to a girl from twelve to fourteen years of age or a half-grown woman.
The IE base sker also yields: sheath meaning a separating cover; shearwater referring to a bird literally meaning to cut-water; share; shard meaning a fragment of; score meaning to cut off; and short with a basic sense meaning to cut off or shorten an idea. The shearwater and cormorant are both diving birds. Perhaps the meaning in this context is the harvest, fruit, or idea of sustenance is hidden beneath the cloth, the flowing robes of women who wear scarfs or hijabs.
The color of hair is another symbolic aspect. According to Circlot, brown or black hair represented dark, terrestrial energy, whereas golden hair is related to the sun’s rays, and copper-colored hair implies a demonic characteristic related to Venus. (pgs. 129-130, Circlot). There are many folklore tales referencing long, golden hair of the princess or the maiden fair. Rapunzel is a tale about a young maiden with long golden colored hair, written by the Brothers Grimm in 1812. She locked up in a tower by a sorceress. A prince happens to ride by and hears her singing. He falls in love. He is able to climb up to her using her long hair as a rope. Sif, wife of the Norse god Thor, possessed long golden hair. But Loki, the trickster god, cut her hair and then became afraid of Thor’s vengeance, so he replaces Sif’s hair with even longer threads of gold. A Slavonic fairy tale, “Golden Hair”, is a story about an old king who commanded that a servant find him a wife with golden hair. The servant is successful, but with a twist he becomes the lover and replaces the old king after successfully completing the tests the old king placed before him.
Japanese favor pure black hair as a sign of the integrity of ancestral bloodlines, and the Japanese have an aversion to body hair, not head hair. Graying hair can be seen as a sign of weakness, however, in Proverbs 16:31 gray hair is a crown of glory gained in a righteous life. Regarding the Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs and hair, Bridget McDermott states, “The hair … sny/sheny, was associated with both male and female
sexuality, while an eye with eyeliner was used as a determinative in the word “beautiful”…..” (pg. 108, McDermott).
The quantity of hair displayed or not shown on an individual has taken on numerous and paradoxical meanings throughout history of humankind.
Since the 17th century, male Sikhs’ do not cut their hair and wear turbans.
There are numerous references to hair in both the Old and New Testament of the Bible, and numerous folktales. John the Baptist had long hair.
Long hair, as in the Biblical story of Samson, implies great strength. In the Roman Catholic Church a clipping or shaving of all or part of the hair on the head of clergy or monks, formerly signaled the entrance into the religious or priestly life. This ritual, according to Manley Hall, is “based upon the releasing of the spiritual consciousness through the parietal foramina, two small openings in the crown of the skull. This area was called the Gate of the Gods, and the tonsure came to represent released consciousness or use of the third eye.” (pg. 207, The Lost Keys of Freemasonry). The derivations for tonsure are: L tonsura; L tonsorius meaning of clipping with tonsor meaning clipper from tondere meaning to shear. Perhaps there is a relationship with the Muslim ritual of shaving a newborn’s head of hair on the eighth day of life, weighing it, and offering the equivalent weight of the hair in silver to charity. Note the L word tonsura is composed of the syllables ton and sura. Ton can mean a measure and sura can refer to the chapters of the Koran. Ar sura literally means enclosure. Yet L sura also refers to calf of the leg and calf can refer to offspring. Sansk sutra literally means a thread or string and linked to sew, thus yielding suture. A sutra in Hinduism refers to a precept or collection of precepts and in Buddhism a scriptural passage relating to teachings of Buddha. It seems that these rituals or customs of shaving the hair have to do with making connections with God.
There is a curious passage in Genesis 25:25 of the Biblical Old Testament. It is about the birth of twin boys, Esau and Jacob, to Isaac and Rebekah. Esau, at birth was very red and his body was hairy, unlike his brother who was the second born with “smooth skin”. Esau became a skillful hunter and a man of the open country, whereas Jacob was the quiet stay at home fellow. Isaac loved wild game. In Chapter 27 Jacob deceives his blind aged father by pretending he is the hairy Esau by wearing goat skin, presenting his father with tasty meat of wild game, thus receiving his father’s blessing. Isaac smells the wild scent of Jacob who has worn the goatskins. He recognizes the hairy hands as Esau, even though the voice is of Jacob. Then Esau shows up with his father’s favorite wild game and learns of the trickery. He too requests his fathers’ blessing. Isaac answered Esau by saying he shall live away from fertile ground and away from the “dew of heaven above”, and he will live by the sword and be subservient to Jacob. But when the time is right and you are restless you will throw this yoke from around your neck.
Esau founded the people known as the Edomites who lived southeast of the Dead Sea with both desolate desert and rugged mountains. The Edomites were the “wild people” because of their ruggedness and intermarriage with other cultures, and were eventually looked down upon by King David. This story reflects the symbolic importance of hair.
Shaggy, long haired people were characterized as rough and ill mannered. Hairy, as a slang term, also means: about the heels or hairy at the heels, associated with being uncouth or ill mannered.
Further Biblical references are given. Numbers 6:1-5 states a man shall not let a razor touch his head. He shall let his hair grow long. 1st Corinthians 11:15 states if a woman has long hair, it is her glory.
Tress is defined as a braid or plait of hair; a lock of hair; and a woman’s long hair styled to fall in a loose way. The derivations are: ME tresse; OFr and It treccia; and VL trachea meaning a plait. Trachea is derived from: ME trache; ML and LL trachea meaning windpipe; Grk plait reflecting the picture of the loose immoral woman; Grk tracheia meaning rough windpipe, from trachys meaning rough and thrassein meaning to confuse; and IE base dher meaning dark residue, dirt, and dregs. Plait is derived from ME pleit; OFr and VL plica; L plicare meaning to fold; and IE base plek meaning to entwine and related to flax. Plait is defined as: a pleat; a braid of hair or ribbon; and to pleat, braid, or interweave. Could these definitions have a bias toward the female as a temptress? See below.
Tress as a suffix is related to ster, as in spinster. If a job or task was originally done by males and eventually by women, then feminine suffixes were added as in the examples of: sempster, yielding to sempsteress, then to the shortened form semptress; or songster, to songsteress, to songstress. The suffix ster, originally ME and OE -estre (initially feminine) means someone who creates, often used in a derogatory sense, like spinster, trickster, and gangster. Ster also is a root meaning star, stiff, mattress, stretch, barren, thorn, and to steal. Since Grk trix means hair, is there a sense that tress is linked to temptress, trickster, and tricks?
Trick is derived from: ME trik; NormFr trique and trickier; OFr trichier meaning to trick or cheat; L tricare meaning to deceive; L tricar meaning to make trouble; L tricae meaning vexations and tricks; and IE base ter meaning to turn and rub yielding throw, twist, drill, pierce, thresh threshold, circle, turn, drill, throw, thread, tribulation, trauma, to overcome death, avatar, transient, savage, grim, trunk, and trench. Definitions are: an action or device designed to deceive, cheat, and outwit; artifice; dodge; ruse; illusion; clever or difficult act; any feat requiring skill; shift at work; a child or girl (maiden) viewed as pretty or cute; an act of prostitution; card played and won in a single round; and to swindle. Note Grk thrix or trichos means hair.
How did a tuft or tress of curly hair come to be called a lock? One set of lock definitions refers to hair on the head, a curl, tress, or ringlet, or a tuft of wool or cotton. The derivations are ME lokke or OE locc, OE loc, Ger locke, which mean a bend or twist, and IE leug meaning to bend. The second lock, with the same IE base leug, is derived from: ME and OE loc meaning a bolt, bar, enclosure, or prison; Ger loche meaning a hole; ON lok meaning a lid; Grk lygos meaning a supple twig; L luctari or luctare meaning to struggle or wrestle and yielding reluctant; and IE base leug meaning to bend, turn, or wind in the sense of turning the key to open the door. Perhaps there is a link between tress and lock. Does this suggest a relationship of the feminine gender to
distress? Lock has many definitions, some of which have sexual overtones of constraint. Definitions are: a mechanical device for fastening or opening a door or strongbox with a key, bolt, or hook; anything that fastens and prevents the opening, moving, or turning; jam; a canal or waterway with gates that control the depth of the water; the mechanism of a firearm that causes the explosion of the ammunition; a wrestling hold that prevents the opponents movement; to fasten something with a lock; to prevent in or out motion; shut; confine; a close fit; link; intertwine; embrace tightly; to jam or force together in a fixed position; in printing to fasten the type elements in a chase or on the bed of a press by means of wood or metal wedge; to be capable of being locked; to close tightly and firmly; to store for safe keeping; to track or follow a target; and to be assured of a desired result.
In certain fairy tales golden-haired maidens are locked up in the castle for safe keeping. The fortified inner part of a castle is called a keep, or a dungeon. Keep is derived from: ME kepen; OE cœpan meaning to behold, watch out for, lay hold of, seize, and guard; MLowG kapen; ON kopa meaning to stare at; and probably IE base ĝab meaning to look for. The definitions are: to retain possession of; to store; put customarily; to provide with the necessities of life; support; to supply with room and board for a charge; to raise and feed; to have in ready supply; to manage; conduct; tend; to maintain records; to cause to continue in the same condition or position; to reside; live; watch; stay; to attend regularly; to preserve; celebrate; livelihood; to have; to possess; protect; save; defend; detain; confine; prevent or deter; to adhere to; fulfill; to refrain from divulging; to hide or conceal; to celebrate; observe; to remain fresh; unspoiled; to restrain; hold back; to carry on; to stay in touch with; to persevere in; the main tower or donjon of a castle; a stronghold; fort; and a jail. OHG tung refers to a cellar where women weave the threads of life into form with golden threads (of hair). There are many mythological stories that relate the theme of weaving life in an underground setting. The concepts and actions of weaving, spinning tales, play a significant role in Fairy Tales and in myths all over the world. Charlotte’s Web, the Fates, Rumpelstiltzkin, and the Elves and the Shoemaker are other examples.
Locket derivations are: OFr loquat and loc meaning a latch or lock, ME loket meaning crossbar, Frank and OE loc meaning lock, and IE base leug meaning to bend, turn, and wind yielding meanings of leek, dislocation, luxury, wring, struggle, and reluctance. Locket refers to a small, hinged, ornamental case of gold or silver, for holding a picture or lock of hair. A locket can hold a lock of hair, or a picture. Locket refers to a small, hinged, ornamental case usually made of gold or silver and hung as a necklace around the neck. Lockets may contain a cut lock of hair from a lover. This can mean the bearer of the locket is locked into or bound in a relationship with the person whose’ hair has been placed in the locket. The locket, like a pendant, hangs down on the chest in front of the heart, suggesting this relationship is like a strongbox containing precious treasures. Lockets at one time were worn as good luck charms by both men and women, but are now a feminine piece of jewelry.
Flock is like a group of people bound (locked) together with common values, a herd of sheep (with curly hair), fibers of wool or cotton used for stuffing in furniture, or used in flocking.
Curl is a synonym for tress and lock. Curl is derived from: ME curlen and crullen meaning to curl, bend, or twist; ME crul; Du krul; Gmc kruzla; and IE base ger meaning to twist and turn. Curl is defined as: to wind or twist hair, threads, ribbon, or paper into ringlets or coils; to cause to roll or twist; to lift the corner of the upper lip to show disapproval, or contempt; to form curls; to form a spiral or curved shape; to move in spirals; undulate; a ringlet of hair; to roll up; and to sit or lie down with bent legs drawn to the chest.
Second part of blog BRAVE
Brave derivations are: Fr and It bravo meaning bold with an historical meaning of wild and savage; L barbarus yielding barbarous; and IE base baba yielding words and meanings of babble, grimace, foreign, rude, father, stutter and stammer. Brave can be defined in the following ways: unafraid to face danger; exhibiting a fine appearance; a N American Indian warrior; a bully; to defy; synonyms more narrowly applied are courage, bold, audacious, valiant, and intrepid. This word quest seeks to link brave, barbarian, beard, barber, bard, with hair. Hair, as a symbol in mythology, demonstrates there is a bias against men with long scraggily hair who are called unkempt, strong, and wild, and why much attention is paid to hair or the lack of it in societies. Why is it that “cruel people” are labeled as ignorant barbarians?
Scot brave can mean handsome, goodly, fine, considerable, and great.
Barbarous is derived from: L barbarus and Grk barbaros meaning foreign, strange, and ignorant; Sansk barbara meaning stammering, and IE base baba or barbar meaning unintelligible speech of foreigners. Barbarous originally meant foreign or alien in the ancient world when describing non-Greeks, non-Romans, or non-Christians.
Modern meanings are: a description of substandard speaking or writing; uncivilized; uncultured; crude; coarse; rough; cruel; brutal; and raucous. Barbarism is linked to solecism. Solecism, derived from Grk soloikos meaning speaking incorrectly, is defined as: a violation of the conventional usage and grammar of a language; ungrammatical use of words; a mistake or impropriety; a vilation of good manners; and a breach of etiquette. A barbarian is also known as a primitive and a boor. A boor is a peasant, a farm worker, or a rude, awkward, or ill-mannered individual. Boor is derived from Du boer and MDu gheboer meaning a fellow dweller with IE base ghe meaning with and bouwen meaning to build and cultivate, and Ger bauer. These roots are linked to bondage.
Brave, civilized, intelligent peoples, in attempting to influence barbarous peoples, usually through force or compulsion, slavery or servitude, saw these as mighty righteous actions to either save them from damnation in “a Christian sense”, or to strengthen their
own civilization, or both. Boor and boer are linked with Boer meaning a South African whose ancestors were Dutch. The Boer War, fought in 1899-1902, was between the Boers and the British.
Beard, barber, barb, and berber are derived from L barba. The Barbary Coast, once inhabited by Berbers, is located in the coastal region of N Africa. During the gold rush, the waterfront district of San Francisco, known for its gambling, saloons, and brothels, was called the Barbary Coast.
Beard is derived from: L barba; ME berd; OE beard; Scot baird; Russ borodá; Gmc barda; Ger bart; and IE base bhardhā. The Grk genias, and genados means beard and Grk geneiates means bearded. Also Grk pogon or pogonos means beard. Beard can be defined in the following ways: hair growing on the lower jaw; whiskers; any beardlike growth in animals or shell fish; a hairy outgrowth found on some grains and grasses; a barb or hook that projects like a beard; part of printing type found between the face and shoulder; to face or oppose with courage, as in grasping by the beard, pulling hair; defy; to provide a beard. Beardless means: to be without hair on the chin; too young to have a beard; or young and callow with the sense of nakedness and immaturity. The Taliban require male recruits to have a beard. Beard-tongue is a horticultural description of a beard, tongue like stamen, also called a penstemon. Pogonia is the name of an American orchid. This stamen is the one sterile stamen found in a cluster of five of the figwort family. Penstemon is linked with hair, sexual reproduction, and the idea that people labeled barbarians should not reproduce because bloodline is often equated with brute strength and barbarism.
Scot baird has meanings of: beard; to rub with the beard; and to caparison with definitions of a covering, a hooded cloak, to adorn with rich clothing, and to deck out. In the Scot definitions there is a sense that a beard belongs to a man that is rich, or powerful, or a monk or priest reflecting wisdom.
If Grk pogon is separated into po and gon, then po can mean power and gon can refer to angle of the jaw or chin. In this latter interpretation the Egyptian ankh, a symbol of life and soul, may be linked. The Ancient Egyptian Pharoahs wore fake beards that had a hook towards the end. This was like an uncus meaning a hooked process, with uncus having an IE base of ank or ang related to Grk gonia meaning an angle and yielding knee. An unusual definition of knee is anything resembling or suggestive of a bent knee as woody growth on certain trees. The pharaoh, wearing this woody fake beard would have been symbolic in representing the “Tree of Life”. Po as an IE base can mean to drink, potion, and feast, and is probably related to IE base poti meaning master or someone having great power.
The beard grows from the chin. L mentum means the chin and mental has an IE base of men meaning to project. The mentalis muscle functions to raise and wrinkle the skin of the chin and push up or project the lower lip. This function serves to express facial doubt, pride, or serious contemplation of a problem. The beard can represent wisdom. Sculptors and artists often depict the “thinking person” as resting the chin on the cupped hand. Members of the ape family are often seen in this pose. Are they also
thinking? Ancient Egyptian pharaohs, male and female, often wore fake beards tied around the neck. The beards were longer toward the bottom or long, narrow, and plaited with the end jutting out like a hook. Pharonic statues were also depicted with these beards. Certain tribes in South America, such as the Aimboré (Botocudo is the Portugese name), wear a wooden plug called a tembeitera in the lower lip. When looking at a profile of these people, they appear to have beards that stick out, just like the Pharoahs of Egypt. Recall the function of the mentalis muscle. Could this custom be tied to ancient history when bearded wise men from foreign lands visited the Incas and Aztecs? The indigenous peoples of South America generally do not have much facial body hair and the men may not be able to grow beards. So did fake beards, symbolizing wisdom and the ability to speak, come into fashion for this reason? Another term for this wooden plug is labret, defined as an ornament of wood or bone, worn, as by some S American Indians, in a hole pierced through the lip. This labret was also worn among the females of the Tlinget, Tsimshian, and Haida of the Northwest Coastal Indian tribes. This lip plug showed a girl was eligible for marriage, the larger the plug, the higher the social status.
Today a woman may have just a silver pin piercing the lower lip, since this custom has lost favor. (pg. 27, From the Land of the Totem Poles, by Jonaitis).
Beards can have pointed ends and/or have hooks projecting at the end. There are links among hook, hake, hawk, hack, hackle, and collar. Hook, derived from OE hoc meaning hake and IE keg meaning a peg for hanging, has definitions of: a curved or bent piece of wood or metal used to catch, hold, attract, or pull something; and an anchor.
Hake with one derivation of ON haki meaning a hook like the shape of a jaw plus the IE keg, refers to the silver hake fish. This fish has a hook-like fin. In the WNWD the two words following hake are Ar hakim meaning wise, learned, and physician, and Ar hākim meaning a governor, ruler, or judge. Hake is linked to cause and code (L coda meaning tail). Scot barbet refers to an arrow. Barbet, from Fr barbe meaning beard, refers to brightly colored birds having as large, strong bill with bristles at its base.
Closely related to the derivations of hook are hawk and hawker meaning a dealer or trader, and falconer. Hawk also means to cough. Hack, sharing the same derivations, can also refer to a rough, dry cough. Hack is further defined as: to cut crudely or roughly; to shape or trim with rough strokes; to deal with or carry out successfully; and a rack for holding food. Food can easily become caught in the beard, as food for thought could become caught in the beard as symbolic of wisdom. The cutting of hair in early times may have been like hacking away at hair in a rough or crude way. Hack is linked to hew with meanings of to strike, hammer, and forge. Hackle refers to the long, slender feathers at the neck of a rooster or peacock, or to cut roughly.
Cause has a weak linguistic link to hew. One derivation of cause is L causidical or causidicālis meaning cause-saying, which relates to the wearing of the beard by the Egyptian Pharaoh who speaks the law and keeps order in the society over which he or she rules. Collar, derived from L collare meaning a band or chain for the neck and IE base kwel meaning to turn yielding wheel, is defined as: the part of a garment that encircles the neck; a cloth band or folded-over piece attached to the neck of a garment; a distinctive band, as of a different color or texture around the neck of an animal or bird; and to take hold or control of. The clerical collar is a stiff, white collar buttoned at the back, and
worn by certain members of the clergy. This collar represents power of clergy or priests as ordained for religious service. This collar is sometimes interrupted by a rectangular band of a different color located in the front near the throat. Is this like a small beard?
The neck and throat areas have always been an area of adornment with neckties, bowties, necklaces and jewelry, collars, and beards. An exploration of tie definitions offers explanations for these adornments. The verb tie is derived from: ME tien; OE tigan, tegan, and teag meaning a rope; and IE base deuk meaning to pull, to lead, and yielding tow, duct, educate, draw, and taut. The definitions are: to fasten, attach, or bind together with string, cord, or rope made by knotting; to draw or join parts together by tightening or knotting; to make a knot or bow; to confine; restrain; to equal the score; to equal; to join in marriage; and to bond together in some way.
The noun tie is derived from ME tege and teige, and OE teag or teah. Definitions are: a string, lace, or cord used to tie things; something that connects, binds, or joins; link; bond; a beam or rod that holds together the parts of a building and strengthens against stress; a contest in which there is equality; draw; stalemate; in music a curved line that joins two notes of the same pitch, indicating that the tone is to be held unbroken for the duration of their combined values. The long necktie lies in front of the windpipe and esophagus, perhaps symbolizing the ability to speak and digest ideas. The knot represents the coming together of all the parts of speech with the intent to communicate or weave or spin a tale. Tie is linked to tow. Tow can mean to pull, to be under one’s control or charge; and OE tow meaning the coarse and broken fibers of hemp or flax before spinning. This tow is linked to taw meaning to prepare for further refinement with IE base deu meaning to work on or process.
The chin is a part of the anatomy used to symbolize and measure strength. Chin is derived from OE cin; Goth kinnus meaning cheek; L gena meaning cheek; Grk genys meaning chin; and IE base genu meaning chin or jawbone and yielding genial and hanuman from Sansk hanu meaning jaw. Another IE genu base has meanings of knee, angle, corner, and genuflect. Chinning means: to pull oneself up, while hanging by the hands from a horizontal bar, until the chin is just above the level of the bar; to converse idly; and chat or gossip, again reflecting the idea of strength. Phrases using chin are: “keep one’s chin up” meaning to bear up bravely under trying circumstances, and “to take it on the chin” meaning to suffer defeat or severe hardship.
Barb can also refer to a beard, but it has a host of other meanings. Barb has two ssets of definitions. The first is derived from ME and OFr barbe and L barba meaning beard. This barb is defined as: a small beardlike growth in certain animals and fish; a piece of white linen, used by certain nuns for covering the throat or chin; a sharp pointed, curved projection fashioned in the opposite direction from the main stem as in a fishhook, harpoon, or arrow; sharpness; a stinger; a cutting remark; and a hair like branch growing from the shaft of a feather. The second barb is derived from Fr barbe meaning Barbary horse; It barbero; Ar Barbar referring to the Berber people. Definitions are: a horse native to N Africa noted for speed, strength, and gentle behavior, and used by the Berbers; and a breed of pigeon like a carrier pigeon.
There are many “Bluebeard Tales” found in many cultures. Clarissa Pinkola Estés in her book, “Women Who Run with the Wolves”, writes extensively about this story as the battle women have with their wild, intuitive nature opposed to those predatory forces, which enslave or tame the “anima” and leave women weak and visionless. The barb or beard in this sense can be related to the white linen that covered the throat of nuns as a symbol of concealing verbal expression of that “wild, natural woman”. Barb can also represent a phallic symbol as an arrow, or a projection that stings or cuts. The blue, perhaps, represents that “spirit” as the “blueprint” or original persona of male and female. In the context of “blue beard” tales about a male that preys on the female, Estés describes this character as a masculine dark force contending for control of the female’s power, yearnings, and love, and who cuts off the feminine ideas, feelings, and actions. But this dark character is a teacher for women (and also for men) who require healing of wounded relationships. The task is to transform the predator that resides within the psyche of each one of us. (pgs. 20, 40-65, 380, 434, and 435).
Beards symbolize manhood, heroes, kings, gods, wisdom and strength, and sexuality. Hans Biederman makes the following points about beards:
Bizarre apparently is rooted in a hair and brave context. Bizarre is derived from: It bizarre meaning angry, fierce, strange, or capricious; Sp bizarre or bizzaro meaning bold, brave, and knightly; and Basque bizar. Definitions are: very odd in manner or appearance; grotesque; marked by extreme contrasts and incongruities of color, design, or style; unexpected and unbelievable; and fantastic. Zar of bizar may possibly be related to Heb sar meaning prince, and czar with definitions of emperor, a person with great or unlimited power, and an autocrat.
Shave has contributions to make to this commentary. It is derived from: ME shaven; OE sceafan; Ger schabeb; L scabere meaning to shave or scratch; and IE base (s)kab or (s)kep meaning to cut and linked to hatchet, scab, shabby, capon (a castrated cock), comma shaft, score, curt, carnal, scrub (relating to rough), and screw. These latter words have sexual and barbaric references, as well as slut mentioned below. Definitions are: to cut or scrape away a thin slice from something; to cut off hair to surface of skin; to cut the beard; to barely touch; to graze; to cut short; and to trim. Joseph Shipley, in his Dictionary of Word Origins says, “This daily practice of any man that’s not a barbarian
… akin to L scabere, to scratch, whence Eng. scabies. Eng. scab is OE. sceabb, influenced by, and probably from, the same root. Early Du. schabbe was used figuratively, to mean slut; hence, scab, a scurvy fellow—whence the use, first in the U.S., of scab in labor disputes. Scurvy is the adjective from scurf, from OE. sceorfan, to gnaw, scearfian, to cut to shreds—stronger members of the shaving family.” L villus meaning shaggy hair is linked to villain. L irrasus means unshaved with ras (and rad) a L root meaning scrape and ir meaning not, literally meaning not scraped.
Shaver can refer to a young boy or lad, or to a person who is difficult to deal with (hard to cut a deal). A “close shave” means a narrow escape from death or harm, and is close to the meaning to “miss by a hair”. An unruly male child, during certain clashes of power and concern over bloodlines during the Middle Ages of Europe, might be banished from the family and placed in a religious order, which required members to cut the hair, perhaps into the style of a tonsure. The purpose in some instances was to keep the child “in line”.
The quantity of hair displayed or not shown on an individual has taken on numerous and paradoxical meanings throughout history of humankind. Recall that long hair, as in the Biblical story of Samson, implies great strength. In the Roman Catholic Church a clipping or shaving of all or part of the hair on the head of clergy or monks, formerly signaled the entrance into the religious or priestly life. This ritual, according to Manley Hall, is “based upon the releasing of the spiritual consciousness through the parietal foramina, two small openings in the crown of the skull. This area was called the Gate of the Gods, and the tonsure came to represent released consciousness or use of the third eye.” (pg. 207, The Lost Keys of Freemasonry). The derivations for tonsure are: L tonsura; L tonsorius meaning of clipping with tonsor meaning clipper from tondere meaning to shear. Perhaps there is a relationship with the Muslim ritual of shaving a newborn’s head of hair on the eighth day of life, weighing it, and offering the equivalent weight of the hair in silver to charity. Note the L word tonsura is composed of the syllables ton and sura. Ton can mean a measure and sura can refer to the chapters of the Koran. Ar sura literally means enclosure. Yet L sura also refers to calf of the leg and calf
can refer to offspring. Sansk sutra literally means a thread or string and linked to sew, thus yielding suture. A sutra in Hinduism refers to a precept or collection of precepts and in Buddhism a scriptural passage relating to teachings of Buddha. It seems that these rituals or customs of shaving the hair have to do with making connections with God.
There is a curious passage in Genesis 25:25 of the Biblical Old Testament. It is about the birth of twin boys, Esau and Jacob, to Isaac and Rebekah. Esau, at birth was very red and his body was hairy, unlike his brother who was the second born with “smooth skin”. Esau became a skillful hunter and a man of the open country, whereas Jacob was the quiet stay at home fellow. Isaac loved wild game. In Chapter 27 Jacob deceives his blind aged father by pretending he is the hairy Esau by wearing goat skin, presenting his father with tasty meat of wild game, thus receiving his father’s blessing. Isaac smells the wild scent of Jacob who has worn the goatskins. He recognizes the hairy hands as Esau, even though the voice is of Jacob. Then Esau shows up with his father’s favorite wild game and learns of the trickery. He too requests his fathers’ blessing. Isaac answered Esau by saying he shall live away from fertile ground and away from the “dew of heaven above”, and he will live by the sword and be subservient to Jacob. But when the time is right and you are restless you will throw this yoke from around your neck.
Esau founded the people known as the Edomites who lived southeast of the Dead Sea with both desolate desert and rugged mountains. The Edomites were the “wild people” because of their ruggedness and intermarriage with other cultures, and were eventually looked down upon by King David. This story reflects the symbolic importance of hair. Shaggy, long haired people were characterized as rough and ill mannered. Hairy, as a slang term, also means: about the heels or hairy at the heels, associated with being uncouth or ill mannered.
Beard is also linked to awn and awning. Awn is the bristle like fibers on the head of barley, oats, and wheat, and is also called the beard. Awn is derived from: ME aune; ON agnir; OE egenu; Goth ahana; L agna; and IE aken with IE base ak meaning sharp yielding: edge; ear; acute; hammer; heaven; vinegar; acid; and point. Awning is derived from MFr auvans and auvent meaning a sloping roof, and OProv amban meaning a parapet of a fortification. An awning is a canvas, metal, or cloth structure extended out over a window, door, patio, or deck to provide protection from sun or rain. In what sense does beard or hair provide protection? This appears to have sexual and religious connotations. For example, there could be a spiritual or metaphysical meaning to the shaving of the baby’s head in the eighth day of life in the Muslim tradition to shine like the moon, which is associated with silver. In this case the awning or the shade is removed in order that the crown receive the full light of the sun, a “dawning”.
Barber is derived from ME, and OFr barbour; ML barbator; and L barba. The definition is a person whose line of work is to cut hair, shave, or trim beards. Historically a barber not only cut hair, but also pulled teeth, performed simple surgery, and bled patients with leeches for health reasons. Ger frisor means barber with related words meaning curled hair as in Fr friseur meaning a hairdresser, or frizz meaning small tight curls. Frisian refers to people of the Frisian Islands, peoples of an ancient Germanic tribe of Northern Holland, or the West German language spoken by Frisians.
Bibliography
Biedermann, Hans. Dictionary of Symbolism: Cultural Icons and the Meanings Behind Them. Translated by James Hulbert. New York: Meridian Books, 1994.
Circlot, Juan Eduardo. A Dictionary of Symbols. Translated by Jack Sage. New York: Philosophical Library, 1962.
Hall, Manley P. The Lost Keys of Freemasonry. New York: Jeremy P Tarcher, 2006.
Jonaitis, Aldona. From the Land of the Totem Poles: The Northwest Coast Indian Art Collection at the American Museum of Natural History. American Museum of Natural History: University of Washington Press, 1988, pg. 27.
McDermott, Bridget. Decoding Egyptian Hieroglyphs. San Francisco: Chronicle Books LLC, 2001.
Walker, Barbara G. The Woman’s Dictionary of Symbols and Sacred Objects: New York: Harper 7 Row, 1988.