Prof. Sprout's First Name & Salazar

[finwitch]

No: HPFGUIDX 36966

--- In HPforGrownups at y..., "nyarth_meow" <nyarth at m...> wrote:
> --- In HPforGrownups at y..., "garaeta" <mlfrasher at a...> wrote:
> 
> I think the poor dear simply doesn't have one.  Though we can 
safely 
> assume it's an "S" as all the other Heads of Houses (And House 
> Founders) have nice alliterate names.  Sabrina? Sally? Severa? 
> Salazar?  ^_^

Not all- Minerva McGonagall, remember? What about Florence Sprout? 
Herbology professor with both names having to do with plants sounds 
all nice to me.
 
> Which reminds me, I was wondering where Salazar Slytherin's name 
> originates.  I know Slytherin is what a snake does, but does 
Salazar 
> have any connotations, or did JKR make it up?

Thousand and One Nights is what it brings to my mind... but, being 
Finnish, that it begins with 'sala' - well, it simply would refer to 
something *secret* or hidden in my language. zar has no meaning, but 
it can be considered as modification for exotic. Don't know if JKR 
knows anything of my language, though, but she may have been looking 
at dictionaries with the word *secret*. (Chamber of *Secrets* was 
made by him, after all) Don't know, maybe zar means room or space in 
some language?