Talk:Thaumaptilon

Latest comment: 16 years ago by Smith609 in topic Thauma

Thauma

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In Greek language thauma "θαύμα" means miracle, the translation as "wonderful" is somehow inaccurate (though it is used meaning wonderful in a very limited way in modern Greek). The meaning of the word as used in the genus' name propably derives from the greek word thaumastos/thaumasios (θαυμαστός/θαυμάσιος) which means admirable or wonderful as a synonym to thespesios (θεσπέσιος) or the most used in modern Greek "καταπληκτικός" (katapliktikos) either of which would be more appropriate Greek translation of "wonderful" (ironically the "miraculus" meaning of the world -as derived from thauma- is poorly used in modern Greek). While the verb "thaumazo" (θαυμάζω) means - to admire- or - looking in awe - and beside that the noun thauma means both "miracle" and "wonder" (the only common word in Greek language used for these two meanings), "thauma" is hardly used as "wonderful". --Draco ignoramus sophomoricus (talk) 05:48, 9 May 2008 (UTC)Reply

From memory, "wonderful" is the translation given in the original SCM article. Smith609 Talk 10:08, 9 May 2008 (UTC)Reply