Capricorn 10: An albatross feeding from the hand

A n a l b at ross i s a la r g e w e b - f o o t e d b i r d s o f t h e s o u t he r n h e mi sp h e r e ha v i n g l o n g n a r r o w wings; noted for powerful gliding flight. 1 The word descends from the Spanish and P o r t u g u e s e a l c a t raz w h i c h m e a n s p e li c a n a n d p e r h a p s u l t i m a t e l y f r o m t h e A r a b i c a l- gh a t t a s ( s e a e a g le ) . A n ot he r p o s si b i l i t y i s t he P o r t u g u e s e a l c a t ruz w h i c h m e a n s t he b u c k e t o f a w a t e r w h e e l w hi c h i n t u r n d e s c e n d s f r o m t h e A r a b i c a l -q a du s , a m a c h i n e f o r d r a w i n g w a t e r , j a r . T h i s s e c on d t e r m i s a fi g u r a t i v e r e f e r e n c e t o t h e p o u c h o f a p e l i c a n . E i t he r w a y , t h e O n li ne Et ym o l o gi c a l

D i c t i on a ry s t a t e s, t h e sp e l l i n g w a s i n f l u e n c e d b y ( t he ) L a t i n a l b u s
( w h i c h m e a n s) w h i t e . 2 T h e w o r d wh i t e 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 ) ro o t kw ei t w h i c h m e a n s w h i t e , t o s h i n e . 3 I t s p a ro n y m s i n c l u d e whea t , b i s m ut h ,

e de l we i s s , wh it i n g ( a f o o d f i s h ), a n d wi t l o o f .
T h e w o r d f e ed i ng d e s c e n d s f r o m t h e IE r o o t p a- w h i c h me a n s t o p r o t e ct , fe e d . 4 I t s p a r o n y m s i n c l u d e fo dde r, f o ra ge , f o ray, f u rri e r,

p a b l u m, f o o d, f o s t er, p as t u re, f u r, a n tip a s t o, rep as t, pa s te rn , p a st o r, p e s te r, p an a da, pan t ry, c o mp a ni o n, co m p a n y, be zo a r , a n d s a t rap .

T h e w o r d h a n d d e sc e n d s f r o m O l d E n g l i s h ho nd m e a n i n g a p e r s o n w h o w o r k s w i t h h i s h a n d s. 5 TH EMES : T h e k e y t h e m e s he r e a re c le a r l y F OOD a n d WATE R . T h e e t y m o l o g y o f a l b at ross p ro v i d e d a b o ve c o n t a i n s s e v e ra l r e f e r e n c e s t o

1 2 3 4 5

http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/albatross http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=albatross Watkins, C. (2000), The American Heritage Dictionary of Indo European Roots, p. 45 Watkins, C. (2000), The American Heritage Dictionary of Indo European Roots, p. 61 http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=hand Starling Hunter 2011 1

w a t e r s p e c i fi c a l l y, s e a e a g l e , b u c k e t o f a w a t e r w h e e l , a n d m a c h i n e f o r drawing water. T h e r e a r e a l s o se v e r a l r e f e r e n c e s t o fo o d . S p e ci f i c a l l y, wi t l o o f ( e n d i ve ) , wh e at , a n d wh i t i n g ( a f o o d f i s h ) d e s c e n d s f r om k w ei t ( w h i t e ) w h i l e f o o d , f ee d , f odde r , p ab l u m , a n d p a na da ( a p a s t e o r g r u e l o f b r e a d c r u m b s , t o a s t , o r f lo u r c o m b i n e d w i t h m i l k , st o c k , o r w a t e r a n d u s e d f o r m a k i n g s o u p s , b i n d i n g f o r c e m e a t s, o r t h i c k e n i n g s a u ce s) a l l d e s c e n d f r o m p a - ( t o p r o t e ct , f e e d ) . I n t e r e s t i n g l y , p e li c a n s a r e fa b l e d t o f e ed t h e i r y o u n g w i t h t h e i r o w n b lo o d a n d a r e t h u s t a k e n i n s o m e r e l i gi o u s o r d e r s a s a s y mb o l o f s a c r i f i ce . According to legend, in a time of famine a mother pelican would draw blood from her own chest and give the blood to her chicks. Thus the pelican symbol in Christianity, also called pelican-in-her-piety, symbolizes the sacrifice of Christ on the cross (because he gave his blood for others) as well as the Eucharist (because it represents Christ's blood and provides spiritual nourishment). 6

6 http://www.religionfacts.com/christianity/symbols/pelican.htm Starling Hunter 2011 2