Latin

[Steve Vander Ark]

No: HPFGUIDX 12577

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., Jen Faulkner <jfaulkne at e...> wrote:

> 
> In the last group are the completely non-Latin, either because of 
form
> or root: alohomora, aparecium, avada kedavra, dissenium, engorgio,
> ennervate, expelliarmus, furnunculus, lumos, obliviate, peskipiksi
> persternomi, petrificus totalus, relashio, tarantallegra, waddiwasi,
> wingardium leviosa.

Ah, but almost all of these have Latin roots. Some aren't obvious and 
some are mixed up with non-Latin words too. 

Here's an example: Alohomora is a tricky one because of the "aloho-" 
part, but "mora" means obstacle. Furnunculus comes from the Latin 
root for furnace or oven, a meaning that is carried over in many 
romance languages (including Portuges) to mean a sore or boil. 
Ennervate comes from the Latin root "en-" which means to give or 
enable, added to the word "nervus" which gained the meaning of action 
or courage in the 1500's.

And "peskipiksi pesternomi" isn't a real spell. It means "pesky 
pixie, pester no me." Lockhart is faking it and not doing a very good 
job of it. 

I will have to check out that web site you mentioned, but if you 
would like more information on the root words of these spells, check 
out the Lexicon's Encyclopedia of Spells. Just about every spell JKR 
uses has recognizable roots to it, even if the endings 
aren't "correct."

Steve Vander Ark
The Harry Potter Lexicon
http://www.i2k.com/~svderark/lexicon