Echo

Echo (pronounced ek-oh)

(1) A repetition of sound produced by the reflection of sound waves from a wall, mountain, or other obstructing surface.

(2) A sound heard again near its source after being reflected.

(3) Any repetition or close imitation, as of the ideas or opinions of another.

(4) A person who reflects or imitates another.

(5) A sympathetic or identical response, as to sentiments expressed.

(6) A lingering trace or effect.

(7) In classical mythology, a mountain nymph who pined away for love of the beautiful youth Narcissus until only her voice remained (initial capital letter).

(8) In certain card games, the play of a high card and then a low card in the suit led by one's partner as a signal to continue leading the suit, as in bridge, or to lead a trump, as in whist.

(9) In electronics, the reflection of a radio wave, as in radar, sonar or the like.

(10) In the history of US aerospace, one of an early series of inflatable passive communications satellites (initial capital letter).

(11) In communications, the representation of the letter E in the NATO/ICAO Phonetic Alphabet.

(12) In linguistics, as imperfect echoic, the accidental creation of new words based on (an often phonetic) mishearing of the original.

(13) In the musical instrument the organ, a manual (or stop) that controls a set of quiet pipes that give the illusion of sounding at a distance

(14) In electronic music, an effect that adds vibration or resonance

(15) In computing, the command to display a character on the screen of a visual display unit as a response to receiving that character from a keyboard entry (@echo on & @echo off in some scripting languages).

(16) In medicine, the colloquial term for echocardiography or echocardiogram.

1300-1350: From the Middle English eccho, ecco & ekko (sound repeated by reflection) from the Medieval Latin ēchō, from the Classical Latin echo, from the Ancient Greek ἠχώ (ēkhṓ), from ἠχή (ēkhḗ) (sound) & ēkhein (to resound) from the primitive Indo-European wagh-io-, an extended form of the root wagh or swagh (to resound), the source also of the Sanskrit vagnuh (sound), the Latin vagire (to cry) and the Old English swogan (to resound).  The first echo chambers date from 1937 and literally were chambers (rooms) designed to enable the generation of echoes under controlled conditions for purposes such as the enhanced & directed reflections needed to manufacture sound effects (EFX).  In the social media age, the term was used to describe the tendency of people to restrict themselves to sources of information which confirmed or re-enforced their existing views & prejudices.  Echo & echoing are nouns & verbs and echoed is a verb; the noun plural is echoes.

Echo and Narcissus

In one telling in Greek mythology, Echo was a nymph who lived on Mount Cithaeron.  Zeus, god of the sky and thunder and the Silvio Berlusconi of his age, enjoyed the company of beautiful nymphs, often visiting Cithaeron during his journeys on Earth. However, like Signora Berlusconi, Zeus's wife Hera became suspicious and one day left Mount Olympus planning to catch Zeus cavorting with minors.  Echo tried to protect Zeus (which she did under Zeus’ orders, a similar suspicion of witness tampering by Signore Berlusconi never proven in an Italian court) which only angered Hera more and in vengeance she cast a curse upon Echo, rendering the once loquacious nymph unable to say anything but the last words spoken to her.

Woodcut by WM Wilson of Landscape with Narcissus and Echo (1644) by François Vivares (1709-1780).

Soon after being cursed, Echo saw the beautiful young Narcissus, out hunting with his friends.  An emo even before being cursed, Echo fell immediately in love and infatuated, followed him, wishing she could call to him but silenced by Hera’s curse.  Narcissus became lost and called out, “Is anyone there”, and heard the nymph repeat his words.  Surprised Narcissus answered “Come here”, only to be hear the same.  Confused, he shouted, "This way, we must come together" and Echo concurred.  That was enough for Echo who rushed to him, only to be rejected.  Heartbroken, as emos often are, Echo followed Narcissus, longing for his love.

Narcissus’ cruel rejection was noticed by Nemesis, the goddess of revenge.  Deciding to punish him, she lured him to a pool where he gazed into the water and saw himself in the bloom of youth.  Not realising it was but his own reflection, such was the beauty he beheld he fell deeply in love and was unable to depart the allure of the image.  When finally he realised the love he felt could not be, he melted away, his last words being “I loved you in vain, farewell”.  To which Echo replied “farewell”.  Mourning his loss, Echo wasted away, her bones turned to stone and all that remained was her voice.  Narcissus turned to ash, becoming eventually a gold and white flower.

Lindsay Lohan in Marc Ecko's (b 1972) Cut & Sew multi-media marketing campaign (Fall 2010), based on the themes of cultural navigator, disruptor, entrepreneur, passionate craftsman & artist.  Shot by New York City photographer Zach Gold (b 1972), each image was then rendered in the style of works by American illustrator Robert McGinnis (b 1926), most associated with the graphical art used on James Bond 007 movie posters in the 1970s.

Voice

Voice (pronounced vois)

(1) The sound made by the vibration of the vocal cords, especially when modified by the resonant effect of the tongue and mouth; the sound or sounds uttered through the mouth of living creatures, especially of human beings in speaking, shouting, singing etc.

(2) The faculty or power of uttering sounds through the mouth by the controlled expulsion of air; speech.

(3) A range of such sounds to some extent distinctive to one person, or to a type of person or animal.

(4) The condition or effectiveness of the voice for speaking or singing (usually expressed in the phrases “in good voice” or “in poor voice” (although “in good voice” is also used sarcastically to refer to someone merely talkative or voluble).

(5) A sound likened to or resembling vocal utterance.

(6) Something likened to speech as conveying impressions to the mind (voice of the forest etc).

(7) Expression in spoken or written words, or by other means (to give voice); that which is communicated; message; meaning.

(8) The right to present and receive consideration of one's desires or opinions (usually in a political context, “the voice of the people” said to be expressed by voting in elections).

(9) An expressed opinion or choice (literally, electorally or behaviorally); an expressed will or desire, wish or injunction (“with one voice” meaning unanimous).

(10) The person or other agency through which something is expressed or revealed such as the notion of the Roman Catholic Pope being the “Vicar of Christ on Earth” and thus “The voice of God”.

(11) A warning that proved to be the voice of prophecy.

(12) In music, a substitute word which can apply to a singer, a voice part or that part of musical score which involves singing and (in harmony) an independent melodic line or parta fugue in five voices.

(13) In phonetics, the audible result of phonation and resonance; to pronounce with glottal vibration (and distinguished from the mere breath sounds heard in whispering and voiceless consonants).

(14) In grammar, a set of categories for which the verb is inflected in some languages (notably Latin) and which is typically used to indicate the relation of the verbal action to the subject as performer, under-goer, or beneficiary of its action; a particular way of inflecting or conjugating verbs, or a particular form of a verb, by means of which is indicated the relation of the subject of the verb to the action which the verb expresses.

(15) In grammar, a set of syntactic devices in some languages, as English, that is similar to this set in function; any of the categories of these sets (eg the English passive voice; the Greek middle voice).

(16) In the tuning of musical instruments, the finer regulation (expressed usually as intensity, color or shades of light), used especially of the piano and organ.

(17) To give utterance or expression to; declare; proclaim (“to voice one’s approval”, “to voice one’s discontent” etc).

(18) In sign languages, the interpretation into spoken language.

(19) In computers. of or relating to the use of human or synthesized speech (as voice to text, text to voice, voice-data entry; voice output, voice command etc).

(20) In telecommunications, of or relating to the transmission of speech or data over media designed for the transmission of speech (in classifications such as voice-grade channel, voice-data network, voice-activated, voice over internet protocol (VoIP) etc); in internet use, a flag associated with a user on a channel, determining whether or not they can send messages to the channel.

(21) A rumor; fame, renown; command precept; to vote; to elect; to appoint; to clamor; to cry out (all obsolete).

(22) In entertainment, to provide the voice for a character (as voice-over for purposes such as foreign translations).

(23) In literary theory (1) the role of the narrator, (2) as viewpoint, the position of the narrator in relation to their story & (3) the content of what is delivered behind a persona (mask), the most basic form of aesthetic distance.

1250–1300: From the Middle English noun voice, voys & vois (sound made by the human mouth), from the Anglo-French voiz, voys & voice or directly from the Old French voiz & vois (voice, speech; word, saying, rumor, report (which survives in Modern French as voix)), from the Latin vōcem (voice, sound, utterance, cry, call, speech, sentence, language, word (and accusative of vōx (voice)), from the primitive Indo-European wṓkws, root noun from wekw- (to utter, speak).  It was cognate with the Latin vocāre (to call), the Sanskrit वाच् (vāc) & vakti ((he) speaks), the Ancient Greek ὄψ (óps) (voice) & épos (word (and related to the later “epic”)) and the Persian آواز‎ (âvâz).  The Latin was the source also of the Italian voce and the Spanish voz. The Anglo-French borrowing displaced the native Middle English steven (voice), from the Old English stefn, from the Proto-Germanic stemno, from the primitive Indo-European stomen-.  The extension of use to mean "ability in a singer" dates from the early seventeenth century while the idea of "expression of feeling etc." (in reference to groups of people etc) was known as early as the late fourteenth century (and persists in uses such as the broadcaster “Voice of America”) The meaning "invisible spirit or force that directs or suggests, (used especially in the mental health community in the context of “voices in one's head” dates from 1911.  The verb was from the Middle English voysen & voicen, from the noun and emerged in the mid fifteenth century, initially in the sense of "to be commonly said" (familiar still in terms like “the Arab voice”) and from circa 1600s it was understood to mean "to express, give utterance to a feeling, opinion etc”.  From 1867 there was also the technical meaning "utter (a letter-sound) with the vocal cords", used often as voiced or voicing.  The spelling voyce is long obsolete.  Voice & voicer are nouns; voiced is a verb & adjective and voicing is a noun & verb; the noun plural is voices.

The noun voicemail (originally voice mail) dates from 1982 and was one of the bolt-ons to fixed-line telephony which was among the most popular features of the early cellular (mobile) phones but, interestingly, by the late 1990s users had come much to prefer SMS (short message service or text).  The adjective voiceless began in the 1530s as a doctor’s description of one who had “lost their voice” but within a century was used to refer to those who had no say in affairs of Church and state: The voiceless masses”.  It was first used in the sense of "unspoken, unuttered" to refer to non-verbal communication in 1816 and in phonology "unvoiced" dates from 1867.  In idiomatic use, the phrases include “at the top of one's voice”, chest voice, chipmunk voice. liking the sound of one's own voice, outdoor voice, raising one's voice, voice changer, voice coil, voiceprint & voice quality.  In formal grammar, there’s active voice, anti-passive voice, middle voice, neuter voice & passive voice.

The Australian Labor Party, the “Voice to Parliament” and the referendum process.

With great enthusiasm from one faction and a feeling of impending dread from the other, Australia’s brand new Labor Party (ALP) government has confirmed the election promise to submit to the people a referendum to append to the Constitution of Australia a “Voice to Parliament” for the indigenous peoples will be honored, the vote scheduled for the second half of 2023.  In Australia, even to submit a referendum is ambitious given that of the 44 submitted since 1901, only eight have been approved and the bar to success is high, demanding (1) an absolute majority of voters nationally and (2) a majority in at least four of the six states.

The “Voice to Parliament” does seem to be wholly symbolic given the consensus view among legal academics that it neither “confers upon Indigenous Australians any special rights” nor “takes away any right, power or privilege from anyone who is not indigenous”.  In other words, it will have the same constitutional effect as the words “…humbly relying on the blessing of Almighty God” have had since being enacted as part of the constitution in 1901: Nothing.  The view seems to be that the voice will provide “a strong basis on which to conduct further consultation”, the implication being the creation of a mechanism whereby there’s a standing institution of communication between the political elite and an indigenous elite.  So logical and efficient does that appear, it looks like one of the classic colonial fixes at which the British were so adept under the Raj.  In India they were the key to minimizing troubles while in Fiji they worked so well even the British administrators were astonished.  There, the Great Council of Chiefs, an institution entirely of the Raj’s imagination became so culturally entrenched that within a generation, the chiefs themselves were speaking of the council as if it had existed a thousand years.

2023 Toyota Land Cruiser Sahara ZX.

The ALP government has been at pains to ensure there’s nothing to frighten the horses, repeatedly confirming the voice will have “no veto power over the functions or powers of the parliament or the executive” and is limited to a purely advisory role in “making representations to the parliament and the executive government about matters, including existing or proposed laws, policies or decisions that have a connection to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.”  It also maintains the opportunity to make these representations will be “…available to any individual or organisation”.  That of course is unlikely to mean that all voices will be created equal and the government, like the Raj, will find the system most agreeable once it decides which are the Indigenous Australians whose representations prove most helpful and thus worthy of a salaried position, an expense account and a new Toyota Land Cruiser every year.  This will give the voice a coherent form and in a nice piece of political window-dressing, will likely include mostly (reasonably) tame “Brezhnev approved dissident” types there to protest just enough to seem edgy but not enough to forsake a salaried position, expense account and a new Toyota Land Cruiser every year.  Those who get ideas above their station will be offered a trip to New York to address the United Nations General Assembly or a six month "study tour" taking in Rome, Venice and Paris in the late spring; it will be a job for those "hard faced men and women who have done very well out of colonization".

The government has said “the ultimate model was still being debated by internal groups, and would be subject to negotiation” but given the need to create something which gives the appearance of being much yet has absolutely no constitutional effect, it difficult to see what the basis for discussion might be other than details about Toyota Land Cruisers.  Despite that, there is opposition, one source of which comes from within the ALP, certain figures convinced (and the history of referendums in Australia is not encouraging) it’s impossible to get a vote to pass unless both side of politics advocate a “yes” vote.  So sensitive has become the issue of race they fear a no vote would be damaging internationally so are lobbying to find some excuse to “delay” the vote, even arguing it would be better first to pursue a treaty, the theory being if the can is kicked far enough down the road, by the time the matter re-surfaces, they’ll be retired and it’s someone else’s problem.

The leader of the opposition has announced the Liberal Party will be advocating a “no” vote, something which has doomed every referendum submitted without bipartisan support.  The leader of the opposition didn’t articulate any coherent reason to oppose the voice but history suggests saying “no” when the government says “yes” can be a successful approach and Lord Randolph Churchill’s (1849-1895) dictum that “the duty of the opposition is to oppose” remains good politics.  Of interest too among those opposing the voice is their language: Eschewing the popular (if contested) phrase “first nations” to describe Indigenous Australians for “first peoples”, they are anxious to ensure that any notion of sovereignty can’t be part of the discussion although, given the indivisibility of the doctrine (as opposed to land title) under law, it’s hard to see how this could be part of the debate about the voice.  Perhaps they are fretting about negotiating treaties and perhaps they should.

Finally, there are the “black-letter lawyers” who, noting that judicial activism seemed to be fashionable on the bench of the High Court of Australia not that long ago, worry some judges might find in the words of “the voice” things which on the basis of the usual techniques of linguistic or judicial construction would seem not to exist.  The High Court is the final arbiter on constitutional matters; what a majority there says the words of the constitution mean is what they mean and while parliaments can by legislative change impose their will upon laws, the only way the wording of a passage in the constitution can be changed is to have substitute words approved by referendum; a probably improbable prospect.

Still, it’s difficult to advocate anything but a yes vote.  Since white settlement, Indigenous Australians have at times endured dispossession, discrimination, conditions which can be described only as slavery and not a few instances of mass murder and it’s absurd to suggest the level of disadvantage so many continue to suffer is not a consequence of this history.  What’s remarkable is not that among them there are expressions of discontent but that so many manage to maintain such generosity of spirit and willingness to engage.  The Voice may appear, as the Holy Alliance seemed to Lord Castlereagh (1769–1822; UK foreign secretary 1812-1822) “a piece of sublime mysticism and nonsense” but it’s worth remembering he anyway recommended Britain signed the thing on the basis that although too vague to achieve anything substantive, it was unlikely to make things worse.  Something good may come from the Voice while little good can come from rejecting it.

Lindsay Lohan in promotional interview for debut album Speak (2004, Casablanca Records-UMG).

Lindsay Lohan’s sometimes hoarse voice has attracted comment, some finding the gravelly tone sexy, others expressing concern the change might be lifestyle induced. The voices of actors and singers are after all their stock-in-trade so something so distinctive can limit the one’s range of characters or repertoire although notable artists such as Marlene Dietrich (1901–1992) and Marianne Faithfull (1946-2025) made a signature of what used to called a “gin-soaked voice”.  Still, Lindsay Lohan’s vocal dynamics piqued the interest of Dr Reena Gupta, Director of the Division of Voice and Laryngology at the Osborne Head & Neck Institute (OHNI) and she provided some explanatory notes, noting that while inherent for some, hoarseness can be a serious matter for those whose living depends on their voice, the condition sometimes reversible, sometimes not.  According to Dr Gupta, a clear voice requires (1) straight edges of the vocal cords, (2) regular and symmetric vibration of the vocal cords, (3) no space between the vocal cords, (4) no mucous on the vocal cords, healthy lungs and (5) a healthy vocal tract (and that includes the mouth, nose, sinuses etc).  Hoarseness occurs when there is damage to the vocal cords that either disrupts the straight edge of the vocal cords or disrupts their vibration, the other factors more important for ease of voice use and vocal tone.

Many injuries can cause the vocal edge to be irregular, thereby inducing hoarseness including polyps, cysts & nodules but even when the edges are straight, scarring can also dampen vibrations and make them irregular, scarred vocal cords having lost their ability to vibrate due to a loss of the vibrating layer and there is currently no cure for the loss of vibration due to scarring.  The scarring can happen for many reasons but is almost always caused by vocal trauma which can be induced by (1) talking loudly or frequent yelling, (2) singing with a flawed technique, (3) smoking (any substance) or (4) a chronic cough or habitual throat clearing.  Any behavior that causes inflammation of the vocal cords will result in a higher likelihood of scarring and a videostroboscopy is the only non-surgical procedure which can confirm the presence of scarring.  There’s nothing unusual or concerning about a hoarseness which lasts only a day or so but if it persists beyond that, a professional evaluation should be sought and many of the causes of are treatable, almost all able to be at least to some extent ameliorated.

Celebrity site ETOnLine.com in 2016 noted the “darkening” in Lindsay Lohan’s voice and posted examples of the variations.

However, prevention being better than cure, Dr Gupta provided the following guidelines for caring for one’s voice and there’s probably no other aspect of our physiology which, despite being so important, is so taken for granted:

(1) No smoking (that’s anything, including vaping).

(2) No heavy use of alcohol, though in moderation it’s OK.

(3) When in a loud environment (restaurants, clubs, parties, sporting events etc), restrict the use of the voice use to a minimum and resist the temptation to shout except in cases of life or death.

(4) Hydration is especially important when in a loud environment (always carry water).

(5) If the voice has been subject to loud or prolonged use, rest the vocal cords the next day.  Under extreme conditions (towards the end of epic-length Wagnerian opera, the voices of even the most skilled will sound a little ragged) there will always be some damage, just as many athletes will tear a few things in competition which is why the recovery protocols must be observed.

(6) If scheduled to need one’s voice in perfect shape, do not the previous evening go somewhere one may be required to shout.

(7) Avoid recreational drugs; their effects are always uncertain.

(8) Learn correct voice use.  Although actors & singers often undertake professional voice training for reasons of articulation and projection, they also learn techniques to ensure damage is minimized and a clinical vocal exam prior to these lessons is advisable to ensure that physically, all is well.

Cede

Cede (pronounced seed)

(1) To yield or formally surrender to another; to transfer or make over something (especially physical territory or legal rights).

(2) To allow a point in an argument, negotiation or debate (technically as a synonym of concede).

1625-1635: From the Old & Middle French céder, from the Latin cēdere (to yield, give place; to give up some right or property (and originally "to go from, proceed, leave”)), from cēdō (to yield), (from the Proto-Italic kesd-o- (to go away, avoid), from the primitive Indo-European ḱyesd- (to drive away; to go away), from ked- (to go, to yield).  The original sense in English (to go from, proceed, leave) is long archaic; the transitive meaning “yield or formally surrender (something) to another” dating from 1754.  The sense evolution in Latin was via the notion of “go away, withdraw, give ground” and cēdere, with the appropriate prefix bolted-on, proved extraordinarily in English, yielding forms such as accede, concede, exceed, precede, proceed, recede, secede, antecedent, intercede, succeed & supercede.  Cede (in one context or another) can be vested with specific meanings in law but relinquish, abandon, grant, transfer & convey can sometimes be used as synonyms.  Cede, cedes, ceded & ceding are verbs and ceder & cedents are nouns; the noun plural is ceders.

Senator Lidia Thorpe.

The “debate” between the “yes” and “no” cases for the upcoming referendum to amend the Australian constitution to include a “Voice” to make representations to the parliament and executive on matters concerning Indigenous Australians has evolved to the interesting position of the no case being split between (1) those who argue the Voice would have too much power and (2) those who claim it would possess not enough.  Politics being what it is, that split might be unremarkable except the yes case simultaneously is disagreeing with both while trying hard to avoid having to descend to specifics and by far the interesting position among the noes is that advocated by Lidia Thorpe (b 1973; senator (Independent though elected for the Green Party) for Victoria since 2020).  What Senator Thorpe describes as the basis of the “radical no case” is that (1) colonial settlement of the Australian land mass was effected by an invasion, (2) Indigenous Australians never ceded their sovereignty over that land mass and (3) Indigenous sovereignty is not only ongoing but exclusive and does not co-exist with the claimed sovereignty of the Crown (ie the construct which is the Australian state).  This is the position of the Blak sovereign movement (BSM) which says Indigenous Australians “…are the original and only sovereign of these lands” which would seem to imply the Australian government should be considered an “occupying power”.  Whether that’s an “illegal occupation” or the natural consequence of a successful invasion which extinguished Indigenous sovereignty depends less on what one thinks happened in the past and more on what one would like to happen in the future.  Either way, the Australian government is continuing to promise the matter of a treaty (or treaties) will be pursued “sometime” after the Voice referendum passes; any thought of a failed referendum seems to be unthinkable.  The spelling blak existed in Middle English and several Germanic languages; in all cases meant “black” and it’s used by the movement as a point of political differentiation, “black” being a “white” construct.

For something which is the fundamental tenet of the international order, the modern understanding of sovereignty is a surprisingly recent thing and though political arrangements which are recognizable as “nations” have existed for thousands of years, the concept of the nation-state began to coalesce only in the late Middle Ages.  In international law, sovereignty encapsulates the supreme authority and independence of a state but it depends not only on an assertion but also recognition by other sovereign entities.  Internally, it implies a government enjoys an exclusive right to exercise authority and make decisions within its borders, free from control or influence by other states but in its purest form it now rarely exists because so many states have entered into international agreements which to some degree impinge on their sovereignty.  Externally, it means that a state is recognized by other sovereign states and is thus able to conduct foreign policy, enter into agreements with other states and participate in international organizations.  It also implies non-interference in a state's domestic affairs by others.  All of this illustrates why sovereignty is so important and why the ongoing existence matters to the BSM activists.  Only sovereign entities can enter into legally binding treaties with others which is why Senator Thorpe observed: “Treaty is so important because we don’t want to cede our sovereignty. We have maintained our sovereign status in our own country since forever. We are not about to cede our sovereignty.”  However, as many “sovereign citizens” have discovered when attempting to evade their speeding tickets using arguments invoking everything from scripture, the writings of medieval natural law theorists and the Magna Carta, sovereignty is determined not by assertion but by recognition.

In the case of the Indigenous Australians, quite how a conception of their sovereignty at the point of the colonial invasion should be constructed is interesting, not only in the abstract but because the BSM wants treaty negotiations to begin rather than the creation of “a Voice” on the grounds the latter might be seen to imply an acquiescence to the sovereignty of the Australian state, thus extinguishing Indigenous Australian sovereignty.  The rapidity with which the government moved to assure all the Voice would not have this effect suggests not a statement of constitutional law but an indication they don’t take the BSM position too seriously.  However, sovereign entities can enter into treaties and although as a pre-literate culture, there are no pre-1788 written records (in the Western sense), the work of anthropologists has established the first peoples did have a concept of sovereignty over their lands.  Importantly though, implied in the phrase “first nations”, the peoples were organized into tribes (“mob” the preferred modern slang) and their understanding of sovereignty related to each of the tribal lands.  In a legal sense, that is thought not to be a problem because the Western concept of sovereignty is quite compatible and for treaty purposes could be considered equivalent (indeed there was nineteenth century colonial case law which said exactly that).  In a practical sense however, there is one sovereign Australian state and (at least) hundreds of first nations so the mechanics of the treaty process would seem onerous although almost all the other former colonies of the British Empire have managed, however imperfectly, to execute treaties.  However, it seem inevitable the Australian government would prefer to enter into one treaty, even one with hundreds of signatories but as the Voice discussions have proved (and the very existence of the BSM has emphasized), Indigenous Australia is not monolithic and a treaty process could be long and involved.

An outgrowth of a small music store which in 1976 opened in the Swiss town of Winterthur selling vinyl records and cassettes, the Music Box added Compact Discs (CD) and Digital Versatile Discs (DVD) as the new formats became available and in 1997 became one of the pioneers of Swiss e-commerce, launching CeDe.com (pronounced see-dee-dot-com) as an online shop.  That might have been a bad choice as the CD faded from use but CeDe gained sufficient market presence to become an established brand-name and has transcended its etymology.

Hermaphrodite

Hermaphrodite (pronounced hur-maf-ruh-dahyt)

(1) In human physiology, an individual in which both male and female reproductive organs (and sometimes also all or some of the secondary sex characteristics) are present, or in which the chromosomal patterns do not fall under typical definitions of male and female.  It’s no longer used to describe people, except in the technical language of medicine or pathology and is now considered offensive, intersex the preferred term).

(2) In zoology, an organism (such as the earthworm) having both the male and female organs of reproduction.

(3) Of, relating to, or characteristic of a hermaphrodite.

(4) In botany, having stamens and pistils in the same flower; the alternative term is monoclinous.

(5) In figurative use, a person or thing in which two opposite forces or qualities are combined.

(6) In historic admiralty use as hermaphrodite brig, a vessel square-masted fore and schooner-rigged aft (obsolete).

1350–1400: From the Middle English hermofrodite, from the Latin hermaphrodītus, from the Greek hermaphródītos (person partaking of the attributes of both sexes).  The French, dating from the 1750s, was hermaphrodisme.  The word was derived from the proper name Hermaphroditus (or Hermaphroditos), a figure in Greek mythology, son of Hermes and Aphrodite, who, in Ovid, who the nymph Salmacis loved so ardently that she prayed for complete union with him,  The gods granted her wish and they were united bodily, combining male and female characteristics.  Hermaphrodite, hermaphroditism & hermaphrodeity are nouns, hermaphroditic & hermaphroditical are adjectives and hermaphroditically is an adverb;the noun plural is hermaphrodites.

It was used figuratively in Middle English to describe "one who improperly occupies two offices" and as a name for the medical condition, Middle English also had the late fourteenth century form hermofrodito and in the early fifteenth, hermofrodisia.  It was an adjective from circa 1600, first as hermaphroditical which must have been too difficult because by the 1620s, that had be replaced by ermaphroditic and about the same time, it came to be applied generally to things possessing two natures although this fell from favor and Janus-faced prevailed.  Although a rare condition, it must have fascinated many because an array of words followed in the wake of the tangle of variations in Middle English.  The Victorians liked to blame medieval writers making a mess of translating from Greek and Latin but the wholly wrong noun morphodite was a colloquial mangling from 1839, based on morpho- (from the Ancient Greek μορφή (morphḗ) (form)) though they could blame the early Georgians, an earlier mangling being mophrodite, noted in 1706.

The slang “dyke”, was used to describe a lesbian (or, more correctly, usually a subset of lesbians) and is now considered a gay slur, unless self-applied or used (with mutual or common consent) within the LGBTQQIAAOP community.  It was applied, usually pejoratively, to lesbians thought “tough, mannish, or aggressive”, unlike the "lipstick lesbians" preferred by the pornography industry and was a creation of American English although the origin is disputed.  Some claim it to be from 1931 as a truncation of morphadike (the dialectal garbling of hermaphrodite) but bulldyker (one known to engage in lesbionic activities) is attested from 1921.  One dictionary of American slang cites an 1896 source where dyke is slang for "the vulva" while another says that at least since 1893, as "hedge on the dyke", it referred to “female pubic hair".  Several texts confirm the long forms, bulldiker & bulldyking, were first part of oral use by African-Americans in the 1920s yet no African antecedents have been found, the assumption by etymologists that these are adaptations of backcountry, barnyard slang, perhaps either influenced by or an actual combination of the sounds of the words “bull” & “dick”.

The noun androgyne was picked up in the mid-twelfth century from the Medieval Latin androgyne (feminine), from the Greek androgynos (a hermaphrodite, a woman-man).  The modern-sounding adjective ambisexual began not with the psychiatrists but was used by clothing manufacturers to describe garments which could (within size-ranges) be worn by men or women without modification.  Bisexual, although it didn’t enter the jargon of psychology until 1912, had been used in its modern sense since appearing in Charles Chaddock's (1861–1936) 1892 translation of an 1886 text of psychiatric illnesses; prior to that volume, bisexual had been used only in botany to refer to hermaphroditic plants or as descriptions of institutions such as (what are now called co-educational) schools.  Bisexous (1838) and bisexuous (1856) were other coinings suggested for use in the sense of hermaphrodite; for a topic often taboo, linguistically, it was becoming a crowded field.  Ambosexual (1935) again sounds modern but ambosexous as another synonym for hermaphrodite was used as early as the 1650s.  Ambisextrous (1929) was a humorous coinage based on ambidextrous and, predictably, came from the fertile imaginations of either schoolboys or undergraduates, depending on the source cited.  The synonym gynandrous was first recorded circa 1765, and was from the Greek gunandros (of uncertain sex; of doubtful sex), the construct being gunē (woman) + anēr (man) + the suffix –ous (used to form adjectives from nouns).  The term pseudohermaphroditism was created in 1876 by German-Swiss microbiologist Edwin Klebs (1834–1913) and that described a a condition in which an individual has a matching chromosomal and gonadal tissue (ovary or testis) sex, but mismatching external genitalia and the nouns hermaphrodeity (circa 1610s) hermaphroditism (1807) are still used in the jargon of medicine and pathology.

Because of the taboo nature of hermaphrodite in some societies, it also attracted the creation of euphemisms.  One used in Old English was skratte (and there were variations) from the Old Norse skratte (goblin, wizard).  The original sense was probably “a monster" and the similar sounding “Old Scratch” (the Devil), from the earlier scrat was known from the 1740s; all hint at negative associations and it’s assumed most were generally aimed at women who didn't conform with the conventional standards of what men thought "attractive".  The familiar adjective androgynous was used from the 1620s in the sense of “a womanish man” and by the 1650s, "having two sexes, being both male and female".  It was from the Latin androgynus, from the Greek androgynos (hermaphrodite, male and female in one; womanish man) and (this time neutrally) as an adjective to describe public baths "common to men and women".  Semi was applied from the 1300s (mostly to men) to convey the sense of “only half masculine”, sem- a word-forming element (half, part, partly; partial, imperfect) from the Latin semi- (half) from the primitive Indo-European semi- (half), source also of the Sanskrit sami (half), the Greek hēmi- (half), the Old English sam- and the Gothic sami- (half).

To convey the sense of disapprobation associated with hermaphroditism, especially as it manifested in effeminate men, probably the best example is “bad”.  It was rare before 1400 and evil remained more frequently used until circa 1700 but the meanings "inadequate, unsatisfactory, worthless; unfortunate" & "wicked, evil, vicious; counterfeit" were universal by the late 1300s.  Unusually for English, it appears to have no relatives in other languages, the conclusion of many etymologists being it’s likely from the Old English derogatory term bæddel and its diminutive bædling (effeminate man, hermaphrodite, pederast), both of which are probably related to bædan (to defile).  The term hermaphrodite was once commonly applied to people, neutrally in medicine and variously otherwise but the latter is thought now offensive, "intersex" the preferred term. It can refer to a person born with both male and female reproductive organs or with a chromosomal pattern that does not align with typical male or female patterns, for instance, an individual with a mix of XX and XY chromosomes or with androgen insensitivity syndrome.

Salmacis and Hermaphroditus

Greek mythology has twists and turns, forks and dead ends.  Sometimes the tales vary in detail, sometimes they’re contradictory and often the myths can in themselves be mythological, the work even of medieval writers rather than anything from antiquity.  That’s never stopped some of the later texts entering the popular imagination becoming part of the mythological canon.  Roman lyric poets were known to pen the myths too.  Although Hermaphroditus is mentioned in Greek literature hundreds of years earlier as a figure of some sexual ambiguity and with no mention of Salmacis, nor with any reference to being the child of Hermes and Aphrodite, the best known rendition of the legend of Salmacis and Hermaphroditus is that written by the Roman poet Ovid (Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (43 BC–circa 17)).

Ovid relates that Hermaphroditus had been raised in the caves on the slopes of Mount Ida, a sacred mountain in Phrygia.  It was a happy, tranquil youth but in adolescence, he grew restive in the wilderness and like many young men he was drawn to the "corrupting coast" and the "corrosive city" and set off to travel to the large settlement Caria.  He actually took a bit of a risk in his wandering because the naiads (female water spirits who lived near fountains, springs and streams of fresh water who raised and cared for him) could be dangerous, known to be jealous types, but Ovid doesn’t dwell on this, despite rarely having much diffidence in commenting on dangerous women. 

Salmacis and Hermaphroditus (1856), oil on canvas by Giovanni Carnovali (1804–1873).

It was in a forest on the outskirts of Caria, near Halicarnassus that Hermaphroditus and the nymph Salmacis met.  She was bathing in her pool as the beautiful boy walked past and the moment she cast her eyes upon him, she fell in love.  In her lust she fell upon him, begging him to take her but young and unsure, he pushed her away, refusing her every advance.  Tearfully she ran away and hid.  Hot and tired from his long journey, Hermaphroditus, thinking she was gone, undressed and plunged into the cool, clear waters of the pool.  At this, Salmacis sprang from her shelter into the water, wrapping her arms around the struggling youth, her voice begging the gods that they would never part.  The lascivious waif’s wish was granted, their bodies blended into one to become “a creature of both sexes".  The last act of Hermaphroditus as he was transformed was his prayer to his parents Hermes and Aphrodite that all who swam in these waters would be similarly transformed.  They answered his prayer.

Lindsay Lohan as Aphrodite, emerging from the depths.

The archeological record does indicate the idea of some form of sexual dualism is ancient, statutes and surviving art predating any of the known myths of antiquity so depictions of the quality of hermaphroditism as a part of the human condition is certainly ancient.  There are some relicts from the seventh century BC, including a statue of Aphroditos (a figure explicitly both male and female) which scholars speculate may have been either a figure of worship for a cult or a symbol of fertility.  The statue was cast at least three-hundred years before the first known reference to Hermaphroditus in any Greek text and while there are many variations of the story, Ovid’s is the best remembered, certainly because it’s the most complete but probably also because it’s the best.

Propinquity

Propinquity (pronounced proh-ping-kwi-tee)

(1) Nearness in place; proximity.

(2) Nearness of relation; kinship.

(3) Affinity of nature; similarity.

(4) Nearness in time (technical use only).

1350-1400: From the Old French propinquité (nearness in relation, kinship (and emerging in the early 1400s) nearness in place, physical nearness), from the Latin propinquitatem (nominative propinquitas) (nearness, vicinity; relationship, affinity) ," from propinquus (near, neighboring), from prope (near), the loss of the second -r- by dissimilation, from the primitive Indo-European propro (on and on, ever further), source also of the Sanskrit pra-pra (on and on), the Ancient Greek pro-pro (before, on and on), from the root per- (forward), hence "in front of, toward, near".  The signification of the suffix -inquus remains mysterious and the old synonym appropinquity is thankfully obsolete.  Propinquity is a noun and propinquitous & propinquitous are adjectives; the noun plural is propinquties.

In social psychology, propinquity is considered one of the main factors leading to interpersonal attraction.   Propinquity can mean physical proximity, a kinship between people, or a similarity in nature between things.  Two people working in the same office should tend to have a higher propinquity than those working further apart, just as two people with similar political beliefs should possess a higher propinquity than those whose beliefs differ.  The propinquity effect is the tendency for people to form friendships or romantic relationships with those whom they encounter most often.  The emergence of virtual social environments on the Internet has not necessarily reduced the effects of propinquity where it exists but online interactions have facilitated instant and close interactions with people despite a lack of material presence.  The changes in physical proximity people have begun widely to experience during the COVID-19 pandemic are thus one part of the many science experiments currently conducting themselves, affording researchers possibilities on a scale never seen before.

The Ball Rule: Nothing propinks like propinquity

George Ball with Lyndon Johnson (LBJ, 1908–1973; US president 1963-1969), The White House, 1964.

It was the author Ian Fleming (1908-1964) who coined the phrase “nothing propinks like propinquity”, using it as a chapter title in Diamonds are Forever (1956) but it was George Ball (1909–1994), an undersecretary of state in the Kennedy (1961-1963) and Johnson (1963-1969) administrations who translated it to power-politics as the “Ball Rule” which states that “the more direct access one has to the source of power, the greater one’s power, no matter what ones title may actually be”.

Nixon and Kissinger, The White House.

Dr Henry Kissinger (b 1923; US national security advisor (NSA) 1969-1975 & secretary of state 1937-1977) was a fine student of history and a fast learner of the low skullduggery needed to succeed in Washington DC.  Although among the most influential of the national security advisors, he resented the independent advice coming from the State Department which he regarded as ill-informed, ineffectual and wrong-headed.  Although foreign policy under Richard Nixon (1913-1994; US president 1969-1974) was during his first administration (1969-1973) something of a "battle of the memoranda" as Kissinger and William Rogers (1913–2001; US secretary of state 1969-1973) struggled for supremacy, what proved ultimately most effective for Kissinger was that he was able to ensure the secretary's access to the president became  limited while his proximity remained constant.  In 1973 Kissinger replaced Rogers as secretary while continuing to serve as NSA; he had no interest in there being competition because he knew what could happen.

As some have found, propinquity to power can come at a cost: Lindsay Lohan with Harvey Weinstein (b 1952), Porto-Cervo, Italy.

Pre-dating Ball and even Fleming, an understanding of the relationship between someone’s proximity to the table of power and their gathering of its crumbs was useful in understanding the exercise of power in many systems and especially helpful to historians of the Third Reich in understanding the fluidity of actual authority in the Nazi state which transcended the constitutional structure.  Indeed, in some cases it wasn’t for some years after the end of the war that some of the implications of the ever-shifting power relationships came to be understood, tracked not only in terms of the influence exercised by Adolf Hitler's (1889-1945; Führer (leader) and German head of government 1933-1945 & head of state 1934-1945) paladins but as a measure of the decline in the Führer’s authority as the fortunes of war turned against him.  There are many examples from the strange world of Hitler and his government which illustrate the operation of Ball’s rule.  While the accretion of power was not mono-casual and influenced by the personalities, their circumstances and ambitions, it was almost always the closeness to Hitler, real or merely perceived, which most dictated one's position in the ever-shifting power structure, something usually more important than actual titles or appointments.

Hitler with Keitel in Berlin.

Field Marshall Wilhelm Keitel (1882–1946; Head of OKW (Oberkommando der Wehrmacht, the armed forces high command)) enjoyed (sic) close proximity to Hitler for the entire war yet such was his character and subservience to the Fuhrer that his standing in the military was progressively diminished, his authority never seen as anything but the conduit through which Hitler’s order’s passed.  Although on paper a power figure in the military and the state his power was illusory, it’s exercise dependent entirely on his closeness to the leader.  He was a cypher but Hitler, who after the devious machinations (typical of the Nazi state) which had removed other prospective candidates, had appointed himself commander-in-chief of the army and would have tolerated no other attitude.

Hitler with Göring at the Berghof.

Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring (1893–1946; leading Nazi, Hitler's designated successor 1939-1945) was never under any illusion that all that he was in the Nazi State was due to his relationship with Hitler but it was enough for him that it be known; unlike many he never attempted to become part of the social entourage, the Fuhrer’s inner circle, apart for all else he found the food served "much too rotten for my taste" and the so many of the regulars "too dull".  His His authority declined as his failings in his many roles became obvious and he came to avoid being in Hitler’s presence to avoid recriminations.  As his distance from the leader became obvious, his powers, real and perceived, diminished and while he retained may impressive-sounding titles, even by the mid-point of the war, his actual authority to influence much was minimal.

Hitler with Bormann at the Berghof.

Martin Bormann (1900–1945; Nazi Party functionary 1927-1945, Secretary to Führer or Deputy Fuhrer 1933-1945) is the classic example of Ball’s Rule.  Along with Reichsführer SS Heinrich Himmler (1900–1945, head of the Schutzstaffel (SS) 1929-1945), Bormann was feared even by the most loyal Nazis, simply because his closeness to Hitler was notorious.  For most of the war, he was the one most often in Hitler’s presence and he controlled the access of others, few had the opportunity to increase their propinquity without his approval.  In the post-war years Bormann has often been depicted as "the secretary who manipulated Hitler" and while that contains some elements of truth, Hitler was not unaware of what was going on and there's little to suggest he was ever nudged in a direction he was reluctant to travel and the degree of isolation Bormann imposed he found most convivial because those excluded were those he had little wish to hear from.  

Hitler with Speer in the architect's "Bechstein house" on the Obersalzberg.

Albert Speer (1905–1981; Reich Minister of Armaments 1942-1945) became close to Hitler while court architect in the pre-war years.  He claimed, quite believably, that he was as close as Hitler ever came to having a friend and in his memoirs, actually documented the effect of Ball’s Rule, noting the waning of his authority as his relationship with the leader became increasingly distant.  His tale of the way others reacted to the way he and Hitler played out their strange association during and after Speer’s prolonged illness in 1944 is the definitive case study of the dynamic force the perceptions of an individual's degree of propinquity to the source of power can exert.  A number of historians have alluded to a particular tinge they found in the relationship between Speer and Hitler: what they called the "homoerotic".  There is something in this but it was certainly nothing sexual, just an understanding that to the very end (indeed for Speer, even after) the need for each of these emotionally stunted characters to feel the affection of the other was uniquely important for both.