This is why I don't do Latin
My wife enjoys the songs put out by the group Lady Antebellum. I had often wondered about the name, but not enough to actually try and dig up why they chose it or what it means. Then, recently I stumbled across the word "antebellum" a couple of times in one day and realized I didn't really know what it meant. So I looked it up and found that is composed of two Latin words: "ante" (before) and "bellum" (war). So the word literally means "before the war". The word is generally used here in the US to refer to the American Civil War.
That got me thinking then, because while antebellum might be new to my vocabulary, cerebellum certainly is not and I was now curious as to how the part of our brains that controls our motor functions might be related to war. Could it be because we need motor skills to conduct war? But then, we also need motor skills to eat, communicate and reproduce as well. So, why not call it the ceredere ("edere" means "to eat") or the cereregigno ("regigno" means "to reproduce"). Both of those have an intriguing ring to them. Anyone know what "cere" means? I sure didn't, so I looked it up.
Wax.
Yes, seriously... wax. So, our motor functions are controlled by our... wax war? *head scratch*
Okay, so "cere" isn't exactly a Latin word. It's actually derived from the French "cire" (which means wax), which in turn is derived from the Latin "cera”, which can refer to wax, a wax seal, or a wax tablet for writing on.
Also, it turns out that in this case, the "-bellum" of "cerebellum" is not the same as the "-bellum" in "antebellum", but rather the entire word "cerebellum" is the diminutive form of the Latin word "cerebrum"* (brain) and therefore translates as "little brain". (So, would a small instrument of war be called a "bellumbellum"?)*
Regardless of its true etymology, I think from now on when I am having coordination issues, I shall shout out, "Egads, my wax war is behaving feloniously!"
Oh, and if you are curious, the band came up with its name when it was photographing southern plantations (known as "antebellum homes").
* I did some further research and found the following:
The suffix "-brum" is a substantive that denotes a person or thing that "brings about" "effects" or is an "instrument of" the root of the verb (or sometimes another substantive) the suffix is attached to. For example, "crino" means "to sift", so "cribrum" is "the thing that does the sifting", otherwise known as a sieve. Likewise "candela" means candle, and "candelabrum" is "the thing that bears the candle", or the candlestick. Interestingly enough, the prefix "cer" is derived from a Greek word for "head", so "cerebrum" is "the thing carried inside the head" - the brain.
So, by (erroneously, I'm sure) putting these things together, "bellum" (war) + "brum" (the thing that brings about; an instrument of) should give us "bellumbrum", or "an instrument of war". Taking the diminutive of that should then give "bellumbellum", right? :D
Hey, the title of this post says it all!
That got me thinking then, because while antebellum might be new to my vocabulary, cerebellum certainly is not and I was now curious as to how the part of our brains that controls our motor functions might be related to war. Could it be because we need motor skills to conduct war? But then, we also need motor skills to eat, communicate and reproduce as well. So, why not call it the ceredere ("edere" means "to eat") or the cereregigno ("regigno" means "to reproduce"). Both of those have an intriguing ring to them. Anyone know what "cere" means? I sure didn't, so I looked it up.
Wax.
Yes, seriously... wax. So, our motor functions are controlled by our... wax war? *head scratch*
Okay, so "cere" isn't exactly a Latin word. It's actually derived from the French "cire" (which means wax), which in turn is derived from the Latin "cera”, which can refer to wax, a wax seal, or a wax tablet for writing on.
Also, it turns out that in this case, the "-bellum" of "cerebellum" is not the same as the "-bellum" in "antebellum", but rather the entire word "cerebellum" is the diminutive form of the Latin word "cerebrum"* (brain) and therefore translates as "little brain". (So, would a small instrument of war be called a "bellumbellum"?)*
Regardless of its true etymology, I think from now on when I am having coordination issues, I shall shout out, "Egads, my wax war is behaving feloniously!"
Oh, and if you are curious, the band came up with its name when it was photographing southern plantations (known as "antebellum homes").
* I did some further research and found the following:
The suffix "-brum" is a substantive that denotes a person or thing that "brings about" "effects" or is an "instrument of" the root of the verb (or sometimes another substantive) the suffix is attached to. For example, "crino" means "to sift", so "cribrum" is "the thing that does the sifting", otherwise known as a sieve. Likewise "candela" means candle, and "candelabrum" is "the thing that bears the candle", or the candlestick. Interestingly enough, the prefix "cer" is derived from a Greek word for "head", so "cerebrum" is "the thing carried inside the head" - the brain.
So, by (erroneously, I'm sure) putting these things together, "bellum" (war) + "brum" (the thing that brings about; an instrument of) should give us "bellumbrum", or "an instrument of war". Taking the diminutive of that should then give "bellumbellum", right? :D
Hey, the title of this post says it all!