Grant (4/11) mentioned the curious way birds are sometimes named for the people -- e.g., Couch's kingbird, one of the so-called tyrant flycatchers (genus Tyrannus). I'm wondering about the name "tyrant." The explanations I've heard -- that they snap their bills decisively on their prey, sit proudly, chase away intruders -- sound like folk etymology to me, and, besides, they don't add up to tyrant. My guess is that it all starts with the small crown of red feathers on the Eastern kingbird (the first to be seen by the English), whence the fanciful "king." That became "Tyrannus" in the scientific name as a simple translation. But taken back into English, it becomes "tyrant."
That was my guess, Allears. As soon as I heard what sounded like Greek "tyrannos" (king), I assumed it had some kind of crown.
All this talk of crowns and Greek has got me thinking about my name - Steven - which, according to all the baby name references, means crown in Greek. But then I once came upon an online reference explaining that crown is a mistranslation of Steven (Stephen), and this mistake is most notably done in English versions of the Bible. Instead, Stephen supposedly means some token given as a reward for distinction, such as we might give medals or ribbons today. I'm hoping that Martha can help me "find myself," and though I realize that a medal or ribbon is a demotion from a crown, I'd rather know the truth. I hope you don't mind this tangent to the topic!
Steven (so that's your name!), I'm all about tangents, so bring 'em on.
The places I've seen "stephanos" in ancient Greek are references to the laurel wreath worn by a victor in an athletic competition. I think they were also given to outstanding citizens, though. Either way, I'd say that although it's not a gold item you could melt down and sell for cash, it's still a pretty highly prized honor!
Okay, so it's a crown of sorts, though not a crown signifying power. I assume that laurel wreaths were worn on the head? And it makes sense that the equivalent honor today would be a medal or ribbon. Maybe it's better this way: I get the crown without any of the responsibilities! Thanks.
May I ask a bonus question? For decades I've been looking for a “perfect†edition of Aesop's Fables - the right combination of text and illustrations, though I give more weight to text. When I visit bookstores I always look at their stock of Aesop's. I have such fond memories of my mother reading these fables to me when I was young, and I am trying to find a version that lives up to those stirring memories (mom doesn't remember what book she read from). The translations I have seen fall short. Mostly they seem annoyingly prosaic. I don't know if the original fables included the explicit “moral†at the end, but if they didn't it doesn't really bother me if they are included. With your interest in Greek, I'm thinking you may have a personal favorite English edition of Aesop's Fables?