Etymologies
Venus and Venom
Yes, it’s true, Venus and venom are cognates, words from a common source. Ah, yes . . . Oh, no! How can that be? Well, I’m gonna tell ya.
The story starts, according to The American Heritage Dictionary of Indo-European Roots, with wen-1, no, not ‘when’, wen-1, meaning ‘to desire’, ‘to strive for’. Related words that made it to English to express ‘desiring’ and ‘striving’ are win, wont, wish, and venerate. We also get winsome, won and wean. There’s even Vanadium, atomic number 23 in the Period Table, named from the Norse goddess Vanadis (Norwegian Freyja), the goddess of love, sex, beauty, fertility, was, death and gold.
In Latin, wen-1 gave the Romans the words venus (grace, charm, the qualities that excite love), venia (goodwill, favor, indulgence) and venenum (drug, love potion, charm, poison). These came into English as the name of the goddess Venus and the planet; venial, as in a forgivable sin; venom, as in a poisonous snake. The Romans had a verb venari meaning ‘to hunt’ that gives us ‘venison’. Then there is an archaic word ‘venery’ from 15th Century English that meant 1) “The indulgence in or pursuit of sexual activity” (and venereal for one who had a bad time of it) and 2) “The act or sport of hunting; the chase”; each describes the hunt.
Learn English; the Latin is already there.
Yes, it’s true, Venus and venom are cognates, words from a common source. Ah, yes . . . Oh, no! How can that be? Well, I’m gonna tell ya.
The story starts, according to The American Heritage Dictionary of Indo-European Roots, with wen-1, no, not ‘when’, wen-1, meaning ‘to desire’, ‘to strive for’. Related words that made it to English to express ‘desiring’ and ‘striving’ are win, wont, wish, and venerate. We also get winsome, won and wean. There’s even Vanadium, atomic number 23 in the Period Table, named from the Norse goddess Vanadis (Norwegian Freyja), the goddess of love, sex, beauty, fertility, was, death and gold.
In Latin, wen-1 gave the Romans the words venus (grace, charm, the qualities that excite love), venia (goodwill, favor, indulgence) and venenum (drug, love potion, charm, poison). These came into English as the name of the goddess Venus and the planet; venial, as in a forgivable sin; venom, as in a poisonous snake. The Romans had a verb venari meaning ‘to hunt’ that gives us ‘venison’. Then there is an archaic word ‘venery’ from 15th Century English that meant 1) “The indulgence in or pursuit of sexual activity” (and venereal for one who had a bad time of it) and 2) “The act or sport of hunting; the chase”; each describes the hunt.
Learn English; the Latin is already there.