On 9/28/21 6:13 AM, Peter Nyikos wrote:

[snip all but a digression]
> By the way, the torpedo ray is very much electric, and marine.
> It figures in one of Plato's dialogues, "Meno" complete with mention of a shock
> which is translated as "electric." This word traces back to the Greek word "elektron"
> but the meaning may only go back to Latin.

"Torpedo" comes from Latin _torpore_, to be numb, alluding to the fish's
electric jolt. "Electric" comes from Latin _electrum_ and/or Greek
_elektron_, both of which mean "amber"; I don't know which of those two
came first. The modern word, however, went through Modern Latin before
getting its English form.

--
Mark Isaak eciton (at) curioustaxonomy (dot) net
"Omnia disce. Videbis postea nihil esse superfluum."
- Hugh of St. Victor

On Monday, October 11, 2021 at 3:07:54 PM UTC-4, Mark Isaak wrote:
> On 9/28/21 6:13 AM, Peter Nyikos wrote:
> [snip all but a digression]
> > By the way, the torpedo ray is very much electric, and marine.
> > It figures in one of Plato's dialogues, "Meno" complete with mention of a shock
> > which is translated as "electric." This word traces back to the Greek word "elektron"
> > but the meaning may only go back to Latin.
> "Torpedo" comes from Latin _torpore_, to be numb, alluding to the fish's
> electric jolt. "Electric" comes from Latin _electrum_ and/or Greek
> _elektron_, both of which mean "amber"; I don't know which of those two
> came first. The modern word, however, went through Modern Latin before
> getting its English form.
>
> --
> Mark Isaak eciton (at) curioustaxonomy (dot) net
> "Omnia disce. Videbis postea nihil esse superfluum."
> - Hugh of St. Victor

Another digression: https://www.torqeedo.com/us/en-us/products/outboards/ultralight