Ignotus/Agnotus

[Carol]

Catlady asked on the main list:

(Carol, would Agnotus been as suitable a name as Ignotus for the Invisibility Cloak Wearer?)

Carol responds:

I don't know whether "agnotus" is an actual word in Latin. The closest I can come is "agnomen -inis" n. [surname] and "agnosco -noscere -novi -nitum" [to know again , recognize; to know by inference or report, understand,; to express knowledge, admit, acknowledge].

Those words, especially the verb, seem to mean the opposite of what we're looking for (know, understand, acknowledge) as opposed to "unknown," "obscure" (the meaning of "ignotus," which is, IMO, perfect for the inventor of the Invisibility Cloak).

Are you thinking of "agnostic," which was invented in 1869 as a word for people who weren't sure whether God exists in contrast to atheists, who are sure that He doesn't? "Agnostic" derives from the Greek word "agnstos" meaning "unknown," "unknowable." I suppose it would work except that most names in the WW are Latin rather than Greek, and Ignotus means the same thing without the connotations of agnosticism.

Carol, wondering why Catlady asked the question