Aquarius 19: A forest fire quen ched

T h e w o r d f or est d e s c e n d s f r o m t he I n d o E u r o p e a n ( I E ) r o o t d hw er - w h i c h me a n s d o o r, d o o r w a y a n d f r o m w h i c h a l s o d e sc e n d t h e w o r d s

do o r , f a ro u c h e , f o re i gn , vi c a r, a f f o re st , f a ub o u rg , f o re c l o s e , f o rf e i t , fo re n s i c , f o ru m , du rb a r , a n d t h yro i d . 1
T h e w o r d f i r e d e sce n d s f r o m t h e IE ro o t p a ewr w h i c h m e a n s fi r e . 2 I t s p a r o n y m s i n c lu d e p yre ,

p yro - , p yro s i s , a n d p yrrh o t i te .

T h e w o r d q ue nch de s c e n d s f r o m t h e Ol d E n g l i s h

a c we n c an w h i c h me a n s t o q u e n c h ( o f f i r e , li g h t )
a n d t h e O l d E n g l i sh c wi n c a n " t o g o ou t , b e extinguished.3 TH EMES : N o t a b l y t w o o f t h r e e ke y w o r d s a r e a s s o ci a t e d w i t h f i r e a n d / o r B URNING . F i r s t a n d m o s t ob v i o u s l y i s t he k e y w o r d f i r e . T h e n t h e r e i s t h e k e y w o r d q u ench w h o s e e t y m o l o g y m a k e s s p e c i f i c re f e r e n ce t o f i r e ( a n d li g h t ) . A s e c o n d i n t e g r a t i n g t h e m e co n c e rn s t h e TH ROAT a n d NEC K . O n e o f t h e p a r o n y m s o f for est i s t h yro i d ( a gl a n d i n t h e f r o n t o f t h e n e c k ) . A m o n g t h e p a r o n ym s o f f i re i s p yro s is , a t e c hn i c a l n a me f o r h e a r t b u r n d e f i n e d a s a p a i n fu l b u r n i n g se n sa t i o n i n t h e c he s t ca us e d b y g a s t r o e s op h a g e a l r e f l u x ( b a c k f l o w f r o m t h e s t o m a c h i r r i t a t i n g t h e e s o p ha g u s ) .

1 Watkins, C. (2000), The American Heritage Dictionary of Indo European Roots, p. 21 2 Watkins, C. (2000), The American Heritage Dictionary of Indo European Roots, p. 61 3 http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=quench Starling Hunter 2011 1

Starling Hunter 2011