Etymology of Homorphus Charm

[Steve]

No: HPFGUIDX 167009

---  Janette <jnferr at ...> wrote:
>
> montims:
> 
> Innocently I ask, is this not a play on "amorphous" in
> the same way as other plays on word used in the series,
> with the twist of being homorphous - having the shape 
> of a man, rather than amorphous, having no shape at 
> all?  I think it just reveals the shape of the man 
>inside the creature.
> 
> But I'm not a great scholar...
> 

bboyminn:

I've tried to keep out of this discussion even though
I enjoyed the everyone's research into the origins of
'Homorphus'.

Based on my own research, 'homo' means EITHER the
'same' OR related to 'a human being , man, mortal'.

One could say that 'homo sapiens' means 'All Wize'
or 'All the Wize Men'. Or depending on your source,
one could drop the 'All' (same, like, or alike; think
homogenized milk) and simply say 'men wise' or wise 
men. Though, in one respect, certain aspects of history
might dispute that claim of wisdom.

Now the PREfix 'Morph...' refers to 'Form, Shape, or
Structure'. I was unable to find anything on 'morph'
as a suffix. But I did find, in the Greek and French,
the implication of 'blend of form'.

If we look at 'metamorphoses', which I highly suspect
is related, we get -

1. A transformation, as by magic or sorcery. 2. A marked
change in appearance, character, condition, or function.

So, I think we can conclude from everything that has
been said, that 'homorphus' mean 'all change' or 'man
change'.

Now let's shift into the context of the story. I always
assume that what ever impression the story tends to
give us is indeed the right impression with regard to
the alternate universe we are viewing. In other words,
whatever the books imply is right, and rather than assume 
it is /wrong/ and try and find a reason, we should 
assume it is /right/ and try and find an explanation
that fits within that realm of /right/.

Clearly there is no cure of Werewolf-ism in the wizard
world, therefore, Homorphus is not a cure. The books
impy no cure, so we assume that is correct and look 
for explanations within that implied boundary.

So, Homorphus, while not a cure, must still do 
something. In this case, I agree with Carol, the
Homorphus Charm transforms a man back into his natural
state. That is, werewolf becomes man, but we know that
it is not a cure, so I can only conclude that the change
is only temporary; long enough to capture or identify 
the man. Once the man is captured or identified, the
village would no longer be in danger because now they
knew the source of the danger. They could take whatever
precautions they felt were necessary; kill the man, drive
the man out of the village and region, or lock the man up
whenever the full moon was near. 

Further knowing the Homorphus Charm could be used to 
stop an imminent attack. If Werewolf-Lupin were about to
attack Harry, Hermione could cast the Homorphus and stop 
the attack. It is only while in werewolf form that Lupin
is a danger; only then is he not in control of himself.
Once forced back to human, for however short a time, he
could control himself and would not be a danger.

But it seems very clear that there is no cure for 
werewolf-ism, which means neither the Wolfsbane Potion
nor the Homorphus Charm solves the problem, but one 
way or another, it allows the problem to be managed.

The Homorpus Charm has many practical used, but curing
werewolves is not one of them. 

Not my best work, but there it is.

Steve/bboyminn