8/3/2019 Taurus 15: A man muffled up with a rakish silk hat

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Taurus 15: A man muffled up with a rakish silk hat The word man descends from the IE root

man-1 which means man. 1 Paronyms

include manikin , mannequin , mensch ( a m an

having admirable characterist ics , such as

fort i tude and f irmness of purpose ) 2 and

Manu (the primordial father of the human

race and sovereign of the earth who f irst

insti tuted rel igious ceremonies and devised a

code of l aw s) . 3

The word muff led is the adjectival form of

t h e n oun muff ler , a scarf worn around the

neck for warmth. 4 The base descends from

the Dutch mof by way of the Middle Dutch moffel and ult imately from

the Medieval Latin muffula .

According to the Oxford English Dict ionary, the word rakish is the

adjectival form of the seventh of eight def init ions of the noun rake , a

fashionable or sty l ish man of dissolute or promiscuous habits . However ,in American English the word rakish takes on a less negative

c o nno t at i o n , i . e . o f t h e po s i t i o n o r ang l e at w h i c h s o m et hi ng ( es p . a h at )

is worn or set : somewhat obl ique, s lanting . This sense borrows from the

sixth sense of the noun rake, the one used in nautical contexts- - the

incl ination of a ship 's mast or funnel from the perpendicular along the

l ine of the keel , esp . towards the stern and/or the incl ination of any

object from the perpendicular or to the horizontal ; s lope, especial ly the

slope of the stage or the au ditorium in a theatre.

1W a t k i n s , C . ( 2 0 0 0 ) , T h e A m e r i c a n H e r i t a g e D i c t i o n a r y o f I n d o E u r o p e a n R o o t s , p . 5 1 2h t t p : / / e d u c a t i o n . y a h o o . c o m / r e f e r e n c e / d i c t i o n a r y / e n t r y / M e n s c h 3h t t p : / / e d u c a t i o n . y a h o o . c o m / r e f e r e n c e / d i c t i o n a r y / e n t r y / M a n u 4h t t p : / / d i c t i o n a r y . r e f e r e n c e . c o m / c i t e . h t m l ? q h = m u f f l e r & i a = l u n a

8/3/2019 Taurus 15: A man muffled up with a rakish silk hat

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The word silk descends from the Old English sioloc and ult imately

from the Greekserikon m eani ng s i l ken . 5

F inal ly , hat descends from the IE root kadh- , t o s h el t er , c o v er . 6 I t s

two paronyms are heedand hood.

THEMES: As noted above, paronyms of man suggest the idea of the

purposeful and powerful man of the law, the stalwart patriarch, the

pi l lar of society , the founding father or father f igure whether of a

nation or of the human race. Recal l of the other def init ions of rakish is

of the character of a rake; dissolute . 7 This meaning is the adjectival

form of the noun rake which means to cause to s lant or cause to incl ine

from the perpendicular . 8 I ts origin is unknown. Such character is

general ly opposite of what is considered ideal for leaders and rulers .

Interestingly , another meaning of rake the long-handled garden tool

descends from the root reg-1 w h i c h m eans t o m o v e i n a s t r a i g h t l i ne

and whose derivatives means to direct in a straight l ine, lead, rule . 9

Among i ts paronyms are the words ru ler , rector, director, royal , viceroy,

regent , raj, upright , an d interrogator . The theme here is UPRIGHT .

5h t t p : / / e d u c a t i o n . y a h o o . c o m / r e f e r e n c e / d i c t i o n a r y / e n t r y / s i l k 6W a t k i n s , C . ( 2 0 0 0 ) , T h e A m e r i c a n H e r i t a g e D i c t i o n a r y o f I n d o E u r o p e a n R o o t s , p . 3 6 7h t t p : / / e d u c a t i o n . y a h o o . c o m / r e f e r e n c e / d i c t i o n a r y / e n t r y / r a k i s h _ 2 8h t t p : / / e d u c a t i o n . y a h o o . c o m / r e f e r e n c e / d i c t i o n a r y / e n t r y / r a k e _ 3 9W a t k i n s , C . ( 2 0 0 0 ) , T h e A m e r i c a n H e r i t a g e D i c t i o n a r y o f I n d o E u r o p e a n R o o t s , p . 7 0