Etymology of Homorphus Charm (Was: The Things You Can Find)

[justcarol67]

No: HPFGUIDX 166978

Catlady in:
> 
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/165936
> 
> > I agree that the Homorphus Charm is real, because Lockhart stole
his exploits, not invented them. I don't agree that the Homorphus
Charm is a cure for lycanthropism, because if it were, someone would
have tried it on Lupin by now, either his parents, who 'tried
everything' or his clever friends who became Animagi for his sake.
> 
Carol in:
> 
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/165957
> 
> > Exactly. And the name of the charm supports this interpretation:
Homorphus = homo (Latin for man or human being) plus morphus
(pseudo-Latin from the Greek morphe, change or transform)
> 
Goddlefrood: 
> 
<snip>  Catlady's post I 
> took as an invitation to dig for clues :)
> 
> Her referral earlier today (for me) led me to take a closer
> look at the etymology of Homorphus in a little depth. I enjoyed
> it, and here I now present my evidence:
> 
> (i) Based on Carol
> 
> Suspect Homo + Morphus (mixed Latin and Greek etymology)
> 
> Morphe, meaning apoproximately in English change or transform.
> It is the root of Morpheus, noun: Morpheus - morfeeus, the
> Greek god of dreams. Some information on him here:
><snip>
> 
> Definitions homomorphous adj:
> 
> Similar in form, especially if different otherwise.
<snip>

Carol responds:
Mea culpa. I was thinking of "metamorphosis" and confusing "meta-"
(change) with "morphe" ("form" or "shape"). (I may have been misled
here by the Lexicon, which gives the meaning of "morph" as change."
Are we all confused by the slangy verb "to morph"?) Be that as it may,
I'll try again.

"Homo" can mean either "same" (Greek) or "man"/"person" (Latin). But
"similar external form or appearance but not [similar] structure or
origin" (the definition I found for "homorphism" converted to
adjective form) won't work for "Homorphus" (although JKR may have had
the word in mind) because we're surely talking here about a *change*
in shape or form (from rat to man or werewolf to man) as opposed to a
*similar* form. (The spell doesn't change a werewolf to a wolf, which
would be pointless, as would changing a rat Animagus to a mouse.) The
whole point is to determine his identity (or prove that he's a wizard,
not an animal). For that reason, I think we have to go with "man form"
or "human form" as opposed to "same form" (or "similar form") for the
meaning of "homo" plus "morphus." (The "-us" ending, as far as I can
determine, simply serves to make the spell look Latin while retaining
the -ous sound of the adjective "homomorphous." It appears to be a
play on words, but not exactly a pun, like Knockturn Alley, Diagon
Alley, and Knight Bus" or, perhaps better, the Disillusionment Charm,
which actually "illusions" the person on whom it's performed. "Let me
Disillusion you" is a JKR-style joke.)

At any rate, we see what the Homorphus Charm (if it's the same spell,
and, admittedly, we can't be sure) does to Peter Pettigrew. It forces
him to return to his human form. I deduce that the same spell
performed on a werewolf would also change him to his human form, but
temporarily. As Catlady says in
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/165957
the spell can't be a cure for lycanthropy. If it were, Lupin would not
have had to resort to Snape-made Wolfsbane Potion in PoA. I suspect
that the transformation to human form in the case of a werewolf is
fleeting because the influence of the full moon is stronger than the
influence of the spell, which would last (as Catlady says) just long
enough for the villagers to identify the werewolf.

Again, "metamorphosis," which is essentially what's happening both to
Pettigrew and (presumably temporarily) to the Wagga Wagga Werewolf,
means change of form, a physical transformation. I think it may be
profitable to look at another use of the root "morph(e)" in the HP
books, the word "Metamorphmagus": essentially, "metamorph(osis)" plus
"magus" ("magician" or "sorceror"), i.e., a wizard (or witch) who can
change his (or her) form. If "morph" means "shape" or "form" im
"metamorphmagus," as it surely must, I see no reason why it wouldn't
have the same meaning in "Homorphus Charm": a charm that returns a
seeming animal to human form, temporarily in the case of a werewolf at
full moon.

It's unfortunate that Lupin and Black don't shout an incantation in
PoA. If they did, we'd have a better indication of whether the charm
used on Pettigrew is the same one that Lockhart claims to have used on
the werewolf. IMO, they're one and the same.

Carol, apologizing for inadequate research in her previous post and
hoping that her mental fog has lifted