A Rose by Any Other Name

O! be some other a name: What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet. So Romeo would, if he were not Romeo called... -Romeo and Juliet, Act II, scene II

Garden Rose, photo by Julie O. /chthonickore

That may be true in one sense, but what if the name change was to a word not so flattering, such as Romeo to Gollum or rose to lacerator (because of the thorns)? Does a name affect its object, or the object its name? It is most likely that both do to a certain extent. 

The word rose comes from Latin rosa, probably from Greek rhodon "rose"(Aeolic / Lesbic dialect wrodon), probably ultimately from or related to the Iranian root *vrda- . Vard is "rose", from OIran. *urda. So, in these cases, a rose by another name is, in fact, still a rose, even if it has another name. Rose is a rosa, is a rhodon, is a vard.

   Not a Rose - photo by Julie O. /chthonickore  

What if we called a rose "orchid" instead? Would it smell as sweet? 


Orchid is from Latin orchis, meaning a kind of orchid, from Greek orkhis "orchid", literally "testicle", from PIE *orghi-, the standard root for "testicle". Named after the shape of the roots.

I dub thee "testicle", you're welcome.

I suppose roses would still smell good if they were called orchids(some orchids smell good), but perhaps the reputation of the flower would be tarnished in some way if we actually named it "testicle". . . Give your sweetheart two dozen testes for Valentine's Day? Humm, probably not. 

Of course there is some reason for an orchid to be called "orchid", and not for a rose to be called "orchid". Words have histories. Sometimes those stories are hidden, as in the case of orchid(which in this case is fortunate), but they are not usually completely arbitrary. 

Maybe Juliet should thank her lucky stars that she wasn't named after a flower since she is so willing to be flippant. Perhaps she might have been named Rose herself, and what if we then changed her name to Orchid instead? Orchids are very beautiful. They would probably make a great namesake if only they were named after something less. . . hairy.

               Some Hairy Coconuts 

Testicle or Testis comes from Latin testis "testicle". It is usually said to derive its meaning from testis "witness", "presumably because it 'bears witness to male virility' [Barnhart]"Online Etymological Dictionary, as one suggested meanings. In the Greek there is a similar connection, parastatai is "testicles" and parastates is "one that stands by". 

But Buck thinks Greek parastatai "testicles" has wrongly been associated with the legal sense of parastates "supporter, defender" and suggests instead parastatai in the sense of twin "supporting pillars, props of a mast," etc. - Online Etymology Dictionary, testis (n.)

Interesting, let's get back to that in a second. But first... 

There is also another interesting theory. And perhaps there might be truth in both. 

OED, meanwhile points to Wald's suggestion of a connection between testis and testa "pot, shell, etc." - Online Etymology Dictionary, testis (n.)

Testum / Testa is "pot, shell" in Latin. Testicles are sometimes called nuts, and they do resemble walnut shells.

Walnuts

The Ancient Egyptian goddess Nut / Nuit (Nwt), the goddess of the sky was sometimes depicted with a pot crown / headdress. 

Nut, (image )Wikipedia

                                                                  

Nut the goddess of the sky has a testum for her crown. And this is what is said of Nut.

Her arms and legs were imagined to be the pillars of the sky. and hands and feet were thought to touch the four cardinal points at the horizon. -thekeep.org, Nut, Sky Goddess, Mother of the Gods

It is even reasonable to think that a transliteration of some form of chet spoken aloud could come out to something sounding like "testa / is", even though it doesn't look that way on the surface. 

Chet / Heth is a letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Chet is a guttural letter. The sound is produced at the back of the throat and sounds something like "eight/h-ate". In fact it is sometimes represented in English by the letter H, as in Hanukkah, rather than Ch as in Chanukah, and it, in fact represents the number 8 in gematria.[It is even reasonable to think that a transliteration of some form of chet spoken aloud could come out to something sounding like "testa/is" to Latin speakers, even though it doesn't look that way on the surface. Things like that happen all the time when languages collide.]

Heth / Chet

Chet has very much to do with the meaning "life", as in chayyim, also, chaim, hayim, Haim. As you can see the letter has some resemblance to an 8 or a ladder, and also pillars or a gate written in script. Could these be like witnesses? And witnesses that have to do with giving life, as are testicles, the twins of the male reproductive system?

Chet looks a lot like the symbol for Gemini. Gemini is from Latin "twins". The, so called, silver Gate(G8 / G-eight / G-chet) of the heavens, or the Gate of Man. This gate lies between Taurus, the bull, and Gemini. 

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       Gemini Astrological Symbol

                                                         

Also, speaking of the goddess Nut again, 

Far underneath her lay the earth god, Geb. . . She was also described as a cow goddess, taking on some of the attributes of Hathor. Geb was described as the 'Bull of Nut' in the Pyramid texts. As as a great, solar cow, she was thought to have carried Ra up into the heavens on her back(*as a ladder/stairway to heaven), after he retired from his rule on earth . . . At other times, she was just portrayed as a woman wearing her sign - a particular design of an Egyptian pot on her head... " -thekeep.org, Nut, Sky Goddess, Mother of the Gods,*my addition

So, Nut is associated with this cow of heaven. As the goddess in this form she is said to be supported by the eight Heh gods... or the Heh eight... Chet gods, huh?

 Heavenly Cow, from Tomb of Seti I

Which makes me wonder... If Nut had her testa (pots) knocked off her head, would she be Nut-ered (Neutered)? Think about it. If no one was watching there wouldn't be any testis (witness).

Nut was, in fact, also associated with the Maqet, a ladder symbol, as well, which looks very similar to the pictograph chet.

As a goddess of the dead, in the Old Kingdom it was believed that the deceased could climb up to her after death. Utterance 474 of the Pyramid texts state that, "N. goes therewith to his mother Nut; N. climbs upon her, in this her name of 'Ladder'". Maqet(m3qt) was the ancient Egyptian word for 'ladder'. -thekeep.org, Nut, Sky Goddess, Mother of the Gods

And where does this ladder take you? To the heavens after you finish your earthly life. It carries you to the next and new life. 

Nut is also associated with the sacred tree, "Lady of the Sycamore". The Sycamore, then, was a Nut tree.

   Tree Goddess in Sennedjem's Tomb at Luxor 

"The Osiris Ani saith:- Hail, thou Sycamore tree of the goddess Nut!..." The Book of the Dead(The Book of Coming Forth by Day)

In Hebrew mysticism (Kabbala) there is the "Tree of Life" or Etz haChayim, also the known as the 10 Sephirot. So like Nut, the tree (etz) being of chayim also calls to mind the ladder (maqet) as the letter chet, in chayim. 

Remember when Adam and Eve were cast out of heaven, their way to the tree of life was cut off. You might say their Nut was taken away, or their Nut(s) were cut off from them. They were chastised. Castigated. Castrated from heaven even, maybe we could say chastated or casticised.

After Sending them out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life. Genesis 3:24, NLT

But in Jacob's dream he saw a ladder to heaven (Nut), and with God above it. So in his case he had his Nut's back (for the angels to ascend and descend upon). 

And he dreamed, and behold, there was a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven. And behold, the angels of God were ascending and descending on it! Genesis 28:12  NASB

Sometimes the traditions of the Tree of Life and the World Tree merge. And, similarly to Nut, as the pillar of the heavens and cardinal points on the zodiac, the world tree is associated with the axis-mundi (world axis), or cosmic axis, and is the immovable center pillar of the universe, around which the zodiac travels.

 Nut as depicted as the Sky / Heavens

So, I guess we could say that, in a sense, the testicles could be seen as nuts on the tree of life, and the witnesses (testis) at the Gate of Man? So the testicles are at the stairway to heaven? ..."Cuz you know sometimes words have two meanings... Ooh, it makes me wonder." -Stairway to Heaven, Led Zeppelin 

When you think about it like that though, maybe an orchid should be proud that it's named after its testicles, amirite? Heh, who would have thought that "orchid" could pack such meaning? Thats really Nuts!

O! be some other name: What's in a name? That which we call a testicle by any other name would be as hairy. So Romeo would, if he were not Romeo called...

Hmm, nah.  I think we should stay with rose, ... orchid even.