Musa Sapientum
Do you ever get frustrated trying to figure out something or remember something: “What’s his name again?” Have you ever wrestled with trying to learn something new and you just can’t get it? Learning anything takes time and effort and energy. The term ‘Zoom fatigue’ comes to mind.
At such moments, you may hear the old adage, “If at first you don’t succeed, try try again.” Or perhaps you hear, “Think smarter, not harder.”
I would suggest that you might want to try something different: reach for a musa sapientum.
“What’s a musa sapientum?” you might ask. Good question. Bear with me.
Musa is a Latin word which comes from Greek mousa (muse, music, song) and from the Proto-Indo-European (PIE) root men (to think, to remember). Musa comes to English in the 14th century as muse, a noun meaning protector of the arts.
The 14th century verb ‘to muse’ (to reflect, to be absorbed in thought) comes from Old French muser (to ponder, to dream; also, to loiter, waste time, or stand with your nose in the air, like a dog who has lost the scent.
The word muse is related to words such as amuse, bemuse, mosaic, museum, music, and perhaps muzzle.
Sapientum, a Latin word with meanings related to wisdom, understanding, and knowing, comes from Latin sapere (to taste, to have taste, to be wise) from the PIE root sep (to taste, perceive). Sapientum is the root of the word sapience (good taste, good sense, intelligence, wisdom, understanding, discernment). The word savvy is also rooted in sapientum. In 1802 the Latin term homo sapiens was coined as the scientific term for human beings: homo (man or human being) + sapiens (knowing) = a ‘knowing being’.
So, speaking of scientific names, we come back to Latin musa sapientum (the inspiration for knowledge, muse of the wise). And if, as I previously suggested, that you reach for a musa sapientum in order to help you learn something, what exactly would you be reaching for? Check in your kitchen.
You may be surprised to learn that musa sapientum was an 18th century Latin or scientific name for the humble banana.
Determining the Latin or scientific name for the banana has had a bumpy history due to ongoing botanical research and discoveries over the years. The name musa sapientum may have been chosen as much for poetic as for scientific reasons; that is, Latin musa simply sounds a lot like the Arabic word for banana, mauz. Another scientific name given to the banana was musa paradisiaca (muse of paradise). At one time, the banana was also known as musa cliffortiana, after an 18th century botanist who grew bananas in a greenhouse in the Netherlands. Part of the struggle with naming may have come because of difficulties in trying to figure out and learn the difference between plantains and bananas. Anyway…
So, musa sapientum or musa paradisiaca? Take your pick!
The actual word banana, by the way, is a West African word.
Reference: Online Etymological Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana
At such moments, you may hear the old adage, “If at first you don’t succeed, try try again.” Or perhaps you hear, “Think smarter, not harder.”
I would suggest that you might want to try something different: reach for a musa sapientum.
“What’s a musa sapientum?” you might ask. Good question. Bear with me.
Musa is a Latin word which comes from Greek mousa (muse, music, song) and from the Proto-Indo-European (PIE) root men (to think, to remember). Musa comes to English in the 14th century as muse, a noun meaning protector of the arts.
The 14th century verb ‘to muse’ (to reflect, to be absorbed in thought) comes from Old French muser (to ponder, to dream; also, to loiter, waste time, or stand with your nose in the air, like a dog who has lost the scent.
The word muse is related to words such as amuse, bemuse, mosaic, museum, music, and perhaps muzzle.
Sapientum, a Latin word with meanings related to wisdom, understanding, and knowing, comes from Latin sapere (to taste, to have taste, to be wise) from the PIE root sep (to taste, perceive). Sapientum is the root of the word sapience (good taste, good sense, intelligence, wisdom, understanding, discernment). The word savvy is also rooted in sapientum. In 1802 the Latin term homo sapiens was coined as the scientific term for human beings: homo (man or human being) + sapiens (knowing) = a ‘knowing being’.
So, speaking of scientific names, we come back to Latin musa sapientum (the inspiration for knowledge, muse of the wise). And if, as I previously suggested, that you reach for a musa sapientum in order to help you learn something, what exactly would you be reaching for? Check in your kitchen.
You may be surprised to learn that musa sapientum was an 18th century Latin or scientific name for the humble banana.
Determining the Latin or scientific name for the banana has had a bumpy history due to ongoing botanical research and discoveries over the years. The name musa sapientum may have been chosen as much for poetic as for scientific reasons; that is, Latin musa simply sounds a lot like the Arabic word for banana, mauz. Another scientific name given to the banana was musa paradisiaca (muse of paradise). At one time, the banana was also known as musa cliffortiana, after an 18th century botanist who grew bananas in a greenhouse in the Netherlands. Part of the struggle with naming may have come because of difficulties in trying to figure out and learn the difference between plantains and bananas. Anyway…
So, musa sapientum or musa paradisiaca? Take your pick!
The actual word banana, by the way, is a West African word.
Reference: Online Etymological Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banana
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