Mythful Meanings

In the English language, many meanings come from myths. This blog considers many of those words.

Myths are stories people tell to explain the great mysteries of life, such as birth and death, why the sun rises and sets, and why the moon changes in a predictable pattern.

I decided to start over from the end of the alphabet and work toward the beginning. I have a stack of index cards with information typed on them, all in alphabetical order. When I started this blog, I started at A, because I didn't realize that all the entries would be pushed down.

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Venus

To the ancient Romans, Venus (Greek, Aphrodite) was the goddess of love. She was the wife of Vulcan and the mother of Cupid (although Vulcan was not necessarily his father).

English word: From Venus get the name for Venus, the second planet from the sun, which is often the morning or evening star. We also get venereal, relating to sexual intercourse, especially to describe sexually transmitted disease.

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