New Post
Search
HelpI put "real" in quotes ...
in reply to a message by Mercy Joy
... because usually when people say "real" they mean names that have been used under certain conditions ... but really the definition of those conditions is kind of vague, and we can't know that the names really arose all that differently than how Krin is arising for you right now. I assumed you'd know what I was getting at, since people are often hostile to names that aren't "real" ("real" meaning familiar & in use for so long that nobody can say precisely how it was coined but can only give a scholarly looking etymology instead). I myself am not hostile to names that aren't "real." I'm a postmodern girl that way, or whatever.
They say "all names are made up at some point," and that's actually true.... Although it's probably also true that the way we make them up today really is different than the way they were made up in the past. IMO that doesn't make our inventions less real as names. Once it indicates a person, it's a name; I don't see how a name could get more "real" than that. But I also understand why even people who invent names want their names to be "real," in the sense that they relate specifically with the surrounding, established culture - you obviously value understanding your place in history enough to want your favorite name to be connected to the world with an etymology. It's not that I don't think that's cool -- I totally do. I just meant that it seems contrived to me, and isn't really necessary. If I were you and named my daughter Krin, I'd tell her her name was invented, and that it happened to be the same as the Greek root for 'lily' -- but not that it meant lily. It's hairsplitting, I guess.
Wow, sorry I am so long winded. As Isla says, it's all an opinion, and we all know what those are worth.
They say "all names are made up at some point," and that's actually true.... Although it's probably also true that the way we make them up today really is different than the way they were made up in the past. IMO that doesn't make our inventions less real as names. Once it indicates a person, it's a name; I don't see how a name could get more "real" than that. But I also understand why even people who invent names want their names to be "real," in the sense that they relate specifically with the surrounding, established culture - you obviously value understanding your place in history enough to want your favorite name to be connected to the world with an etymology. It's not that I don't think that's cool -- I totally do. I just meant that it seems contrived to me, and isn't really necessary. If I were you and named my daughter Krin, I'd tell her her name was invented, and that it happened to be the same as the Greek root for 'lily' -- but not that it meant lily. It's hairsplitting, I guess.
Wow, sorry I am so long winded. As Isla says, it's all an opinion, and we all know what those are worth.
Archived Thread - replies disabled
1
Replies
View results from: Dictionary | Thesaurus | Encyclopedia | All Reference | the Web
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source
cri·num /ˈkraɪnəm/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[krahy-nuhm] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun any of the tropical and subtropical bulbous plants constituting the genus Crinum, of the amaryllis family, usually having umbels of large, showy flowers.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Origin: < NL < Gk krínon lily]
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source cri·num (krī'nəm) Pronunciation Key
n. Any of various bulbous plants of the genus Crinum, native to warm regions and having strap-shaped leaves and showy umbels of variously colored flowers. Also called spider lily.
[New Latin Crinum, genus name, from Greek krinon, lily.]
oh, i see, it doesn't bother me that its not real. I got this from Dictionary.com. yeah I know, your opinions are Interesting.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source
cri·num /ˈkraɪnəm/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[krahy-nuhm] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun any of the tropical and subtropical bulbous plants constituting the genus Crinum, of the amaryllis family, usually having umbels of large, showy flowers.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[Origin: < NL < Gk krínon lily]
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source cri·num (krī'nəm) Pronunciation Key
n. Any of various bulbous plants of the genus Crinum, native to warm regions and having strap-shaped leaves and showy umbels of variously colored flowers. Also called spider lily.
[New Latin Crinum, genus name, from Greek krinon, lily.]
oh, i see, it doesn't bother me that its not real. I got this from Dictionary.com. yeah I know, your opinions are Interesting.
This message was edited 3/30/2007, 10:45 AM
1
Fact: Crinum is not equal to Krinnen. It's pronounced CRY-num, too.
Like I said, just because there exists a Greek root krin does not mean that the name "Krinnen" is what people would call a real name.
I, however, and this is the THIRD time I've said this, would say it's real, if you name a kid that. I wouldn't say it "really" means lily in the same way that Crina does, but I wouldn't begrudge you telling your daughter you invented it based on that Greek root.
Like I said, just because there exists a Greek root krin does not mean that the name "Krinnen" is what people would call a real name.
I, however, and this is the THIRD time I've said this, would say it's real, if you name a kid that. I wouldn't say it "really" means lily in the same way that Crina does, but I wouldn't begrudge you telling your daughter you invented it based on that Greek root.
This message was edited 3/30/2007, 11:43 AM
1