Latin in Harry Potter--Arabella Figg

[Richelle Votaw]

No: HPFGUIDX 42605

Okay, I may be going overboard with this Latin thing, but still this is pretty cool.  First, I looked up "ara."  It means sanctuary.  Next, bella.  It could come from one of these root words:

bellatrix = female warrior
belliger = waging war
bello = fight
bellum = combat
belua = monster

Take your pick, any of them fits in and makes sense.  Now, here's the really cool part.

Take her last name, Figg.  In Latin it would probably come from one of these two words:

figo = establish (that would make sense, she established a sanctuary and was there to         wage war if necessary)
figulus = potter

Whoa!  Could she have changed her name to avoid association and become Arabella Figg instead of Arabella Potter?  Is she Harry's great aunt?  Grandmother?  Great grandmother?  Wait!  Don't throw anything yet.  Let me defend my wild theory for a moment.  1) The Dursleys more than likely would not know any of James Potter's family, right?  Right.  2) She may not have appeared with Harry's family in the Mirror of Erised, as Dumbledore told Harry "the mirror will give us neither knowledge nor truth."

Okay, I'm admitting it's a really wild theory, but I'm rather fond of wild theories.  I think I'll start writing all of my wild theories down, one of them's bound to be right! :)

Richelle


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Richelle R. Votaw
1st grade teacher
Kentwood Elementary
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