Monday Etymology Lesson: arctic

Today’s word is inspired by the frigid temperatures we are experiencing.  Arctic, from the Ancient Greek word arktikós, meaning, “land of the Great Bear.”  The greek word árktos means “bear” and arktikós references the constellation Ursa Major, the bear.

Seen in the northern sky, Ursa Major has served mankind as a beacon toward the north for millennia.  A remarkable number of distinct civilizations have named this constellation “bear,” from the Ancient Greeks, to the Iroquois and Wampanoag people of pre-european America.

Vincent van Gogh painted the constellation, Ptolemy listed it in the second century, Homer wrote about it, and so did Shakespeare.  The Romans believed that the bear was the nymph Callisto, transformed by Juno in a fit of jealousy over her husband Jupiter’s lustful longings.