Bourse

Bourse (pronounced boors)

(1) A stock exchange, the term used variously (depending on context): (1) as a synecdoche for “stock exchange”, (2) collectively of the stock exchanges of continental Europe and (3) specifically the Paris stock exchange (the Bourse de Paris, known usually in English as the “Paris Bourse”).

(2) Figuratively, any place, real, virtual or imaginary where (1) something of value is traded or (2) the value of something tradable is set or settled.

(3) In philately, a meeting of stamp collectors and or dealers where stamps and covers are sold or exchanged.

(4) In botany, the swollen basal part of an inflorescence axis at the onset of fruit development; it bears leaves whose axillary buds differentiate and may grow out as shoots.

1590s: From the mid sixteenth century French burse (meeting place of merchants), from the French bourse (meeting place of merchants (literally “purse”)), from the twelfth century Old French borse (money bag, purse), from the Medieval Latin bursa (a bag), from the Late Latin bursa (oxhide, animal skin and a variant of variant of byrsa (hide)), from the Ancient Greek βύρσα (búrsa or býrsa), (hide, wine-skin) of unknown origin.  Linked terms are used for other European stock exchanges including the Danish børs, the Swedish börs and the German Börse with the roots evident in Modern English words including bursar and reimburse.  Bursa in Late Latin meant “oxhide, animal skin” (reflecting the origins in the Greek) but, by association with use, in Medieval Latin came to mean “purse made of leather” and that meant it came also to mean “supply of money, cash, funds”, extending later to “pension”.  The modern sense of “exchange where stocks are registered and exchanged” dates from 1845, taken directly from the Bourse de Paris (Paris stock exchange).  In one legend, the use of the word “bourse” for such places was said to be derived from the House of Van der Buerse, a family in Bruges, Belgium.  There, merchants and bankers would gather to conduct financial transactions and the a variant of the name “Buerse” came to be used.  The alternative history relates how there was a sign on the front of the Buerse’s house adorned with a painting of three burses (purses).  Bourse is a noun; the noun plural is bourses.

A modern bull scrotum purse.

In French, bourse is also a slang term (usually in the plural) for the scrotum and from gift-shops and street markets around the world, one can buy coin purses (various with clasps, zips and tie-strings) made from the scrotums of various slaughtered creatures.  It appears also in the (usually affectionate) French vulgarity: “Ça remonte à quand, la dernière fois que tu t’es vidé les bourses?” (When was the last time you emptied your balls?  In more polite use, there the bourse d’études (educational scholarship, stipend, student allowance), bourse d’excellence (merit scholarship; fellowship) and boursicaut (small coin purse (mostly archaic though still a favorite among antique dealers).

A bull scrotum purse in a traditional style.

One linguistic development in French might explain something about why the fluctuations in financial markets came increasingly to send ripples throughout economies: In the sixteenth century the verb boursicoter meant “to set money aside” (ie keep it in one’s purse) but by the mid-nineteenth century (under the influence of bourse coming to mean “stock exchange”, it had shifted to mean “having a flutter on the markets; dabbling in the stock market”.  In a similar vein, a boursier (feminine boursière, masculine plural boursiers, feminine plural boursières) could be (1) a scholarship beneficiary, a recipient of a bursary or grant, (2) a stockbroker or trader or (3) one who makes purses and handbags.  In idiomatic use (which survives as a literary device there was sans bourse délier (literally “without opening one's purse”) which is English aligns with “without spending a penny” or “not spending a dime”.

The Modern English purse was from the Middle English purse, from Old English pursa (little bag or pouch made of leather, especially for carrying money), partly from pusa (wallet, bag, scrip) and partly from burse.  The Old English pusa was from the Proto-West Germanic pusō, from the Proto-Germanic pusô (bag, sack, scrip), from the primitive Indo-European būs- (to swell, stuff) and was cognate with the Old High German pfoso (pouch, purse), the Low German pūse (purse, bag), the Old Norse posi (purse, bag), the Danish pose (purse, bag) and the Dutch beurs (purse, bag).  The Old English burse was from the same source as the French bourse.  “Purse” (as a synecdoche for “financial matters generally” is widely used in idiomatic English and persists in the UK persists in the office of Keeper of the Privy Purse, a member of the royal household who manages the financial affairs of the sovereign.  The office dates from the early sixteenth century (things in the palace don’t often change) and can be understood as something like a CFO (chief financial officer) or FC (financial controller (comptroller the historic use)).  Purse had been used in the sense of “the royal treasury” as early as the late thirteenth century and the figurative sense of “money, means, resources, funds” emerged by the mid-1300s, this extending to specific defined instances (such as “prize for winning a horse race etc”) by the 1640s.  The thirteenth century use in Middle English to mean “scrotum” was indicative of the shape and size of the leather pouches used to carry coins.

Lindsay Lohan illustrates the purse and the handbag: The clutch purse (left) would everywhere be understood as “a purse” but in the US such a thing commonly would be called “a clutch” because “purse” is used also of larger items.  The red one (centre) would often be called a purse in the US but elsewhere in the English-speaking world it is certainly a handbag.  By the time something assumes the dimensions of a Louis Vuitton Doctor's Bag (right), it is definitely a handbag, tote or something beyond a purse.

Purse was first used of a “woman's handbag” in the late 1870s.  Originally a purse was “a small bag for carrying money” and that use persisted even after purses became less scrotum-like but in the US it came to be used also of what would in the UK be called a “handbag” (a small bag carried usually by women and typically containing personal items (lipsticks, other makeup and often a “purse” (in the original sense)).  Not infrequently, in trans-Atlantic use, the terms “purse” and “handbag” are used interchangeably, but confusion can arise if there’s no accompanying visual clue which is why the term “clutch purse” has proved so useful.  A clutch purse is a small, often rectangular bag designed conveniently to be carried in one hand (although many are supplied with an (often detachable) chain or strap which can be slung over the shoulder or used in cross-body style.  In the industry, not only is there no set of parameters which defines where a purse ends and a handbag begins and shamelessly manufacturers will use the labels indiscriminately if they suspect it will stimulate sales.  The US usage has infected the rest of the world including places like the UK where once there was a clear distinction and now it’s something really in the eye of the beholder, perhaps recalling the judgment Potter Stewart (1915–1985; associate justice of the US Supreme Court 1958-1981) handed down (in another context) in Jacobellis v Ohio (378 U.S. 184 (1964)): “I shall not today attempt further to define… and perhaps I could never succeed in intelligibly doing so.  But I know it when I see it…”

Bear & bull statues outside the Börse Frankfurt (Frankfurt Stock Exchange, formerly known as the Frankfurter Wertpapierbörse), the world's third oldest stock exchange.  Located in the German state of Hesse, Frankfurt is the country's financial centre.

About the only thing which can be guaranteed of a stock market is it will fluctuate and the most famous terms used of bourses are “bear market” & “bull market”, describing respectively the market conditions as they respond to the central dynamics of the business: fear & greed, both of which tend to manifest in waves because of what is known as the “herd mentality” of investors (gamblers as some prefer to describe themselves).  The collective noun for a group of bulls is a herd (less commonly a gang while bears assemble (a less common behavior for them) in a sloth (or sleuth).  The bull & bear metaphors have been in use since the early eighteenth century and the origin of the “bull” is uncontested and refers to the habit aggressive bulls display in pushing forward and tossing their heads upward, the idea being a herd of “bullish investors” will drive up the prices of the stocks they’re pursuing, thus creating a “bull market”.  The math of these terms is not precisely defined but, as a general principle, the view seems to be they are used of a market in which prices rise (bull) of fall (bear) 20% or more from a recent trough or peak, usually over a period or weeks or months depending on the state of an economy.  The labels can be applied to a single asset, an asset class, a group of securities, or a market as a whole and if the trends are mild or seem tentative, things can be called “bullish” or “bearish”.

One of several bull statues, DPRR (Democratic People's Republic of Rockhampton), Queensland, Australia.

The origin of the bestial analogy of the bear is contested.  The oldest story concerns the London trader who sold a shipment of Canadian bearskins sometime before they had come into his possession, his strategy being a gamble the market would fall and he’d just have to pay less for something he’s already sold at a higher price, thus gaining from “the spread” (the difference between the cost and selling prices and a variation on the mechanism used today by the “short sellers”).  These traders came to be known as “bearskin jobbers”.  The alternative history is more directly from behavioral zoology: the way bears with their powerful limbs and big, sharp claws will, if in the mood “claw stuff down”.

Lindsay Lohan with Valentine’s Day stuffed teddy bear.

The use may also have been influenced by the unfortunate history in England of bull and bear-baiting, gruesome, fight-to-the-death contests between the beasts which seem first to have been held during the thirteenth century and reaching an apex of popularity during the reign of Elizabeth I (1533–1603; Queen of England & Ireland 1558-1603).  An audience would bet on the outcome and the link with stock exchanges is that while markets may percolate for sometimes long periods, there will always be battles between “the bears” and “the bulls” and it’s during these events that great fortunes are made and lost.  The language appealed to writers and was used by the English poet & satirist Alexander Pope (1688-1744) in Book II of The Dunciad (1728), a work mocking the greed and folly of investors (gamblers) associated with the South Sea Bubble, a financial scandal of the early eighteenth century and one of many examples of herd mentality and “irrational exuberance”:

Come fill the South Sea goblet full;
The gods shall of our stock take care:
Europa pleased accepts the Bull,
And Jove with joy puts off the Bear.

Bulla

Bulla (pronounced bool-uh or buhl-uh)

(1) A seal attached to an official document; in the Holy See, a leaden seal affixed to certain edicts issued by the papal chancellery (a papal bull), having a representation of the saints Peter and Paul on one side and the name of the reigning pope on the other.

(2) In archaeology, a clay envelope or hollow ball, typically with seal impressions or writing on its outside indicating its contents.

(3) In Ancient Rome, type of ornament worn, especially an amulet worn around the neck (as a pendant (or boss), usually by children of “the better classes” (mostly boys) as a protective charm).

(4) In medicine, a large vesicle; alternative name for blister.

(5) In pathology, the tympanic part of a temporal bone (having a bubble-like appearance); any of several hollow structures as features of bones.

(6) In zoology, a blister-like or bubble-like prominence of a bone, as that of the tympanic bone in the skull of certain mammals.

(7) In archaeology, a clay envelope or hollow ball, typically with seal impressions or writing on its outside indicating its contents.

(8) In archaeology and linguistics, a clay envelope, hollow ball or token used in ancient Mesopotamian record-keeping; the link being the rounded, bubble-like form of the objects.

(9) A rich Jamaican cake made with molasses and spiced with ginger and nutmeg.

(10) In surgical use, as bullectomy (a procedure in which small portions of the lung (known as bulla, large areas (>10 mm diameter) in the lung filled with oxygen-depleted air) and bullostomy (the making of a hole through a bulla).

Circa 1845: From the Latin bulla (round swelling, stud, boss, knob (literally “bubble”)), either from the Latin Latin bullire (to boil), or from the Gaulish, from the primitive Indo-European bew- or beu- (a swelling) or bhel- (to blow, inflate, swell) which may have formed a large group of words meaning “much, great, many” (and also words associated with swelling, bumps, blisters and such and the source also of the Lithuanian bulė "buttocks and the Middle Dutch puyl (bag); etymologists remain divided over any link with the Latin bucca (cheek).  In medieval times, it referred to the seal (or stamp) attached to official documents because of its rounded, blister-like shape, familiar from many uses.  The speculative link with the Latin bullire (to boil) was an allusion to the need for heat to be applied to melt or partially melt the material (gold, lead, wax etc) used in the making of seals (once thus softened, the impression was applied).  Historically, while wax seals wear the most common, official imperial seals were gold and papal seals of lead (although some were gold).  The use to describe certain documents issued by the papal chancellery is an adoption of Medieval Latin.  Although it was never an absolute rule (the seal with a representation of the saints Peter and Paul on one side and the name of the reigning pope on the other has appeared variously), its existence usually indicates a papal document is a bulla, a specific type of papal document distinguished by its formality, purpose, and its authentication.  Bulla is a noun; the noun plural is bullas (the Latin bullae used of the papal documents).

Seal of the appropriation of Ospringe Hospital (Headcorn Kent) by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Boniface of Savoy, in accord with a papal bull of 31 March 1267, to, Headcorn Kent. 1267.

Bulls begin with the phrase Episcopus Servus Servorum Dei (The Bishop, Servant of the Servants of God) and are written in a formal style.  The significance of a document being a bull is that technically it is a decree with enduring legal & doctrinal authority including ex cathedra pronouncements or administrative acts (which can be as procedural as creating religious orders or dioceses).  In this they differ from (1) encyclicals which are letters intended for broader purposes, addressed to bishops, clergy, and the faithful, often dealing with theological or social issues, (2) Apostolic Constitutions which usually deal with issues of governance, the promulgation of liturgical texts or matters pursuant to earlier bullae and (3) Motu Proprio (literally “on his own initiative”) which are edicts issued personally by the pope and these can be used for just about any purpose although they’re most associated with rulings which provide an “instant solution” to a troublesome or controversial matter on which it’s not been possible to find consensus; the Moto Proprio may thus be compared to a "royal decree".  Papal bulls were more common in the medieval and early modern periods when formal seals were the primary means of authentication but today they are rare, most communication from the Vatican in the form of apostolic letters or exhortations, not all with origins in the papal chancellery.

The last papal resignation but one

Red Bull Chuck Wagon Restaurant (No Bum Bull Served Here), Winnemucca, Nevada, USA, circa 1967.

Even when absolute monarchies were more common, kings usually took care to placate at least elite opinion and today, although the constitutional arrangements in Saudi Arabia, Brunei, Oman and Eswatini (the old Swaziland) remain, on paper, absolute monarchies, even there things are not done quite as once they were.  The Holy See remains an absolute monarchy and is now the only theocracy so structured although doubtlessly many popes have lamented their authority seems to exist more in the minds of canon lawyers than among the curia or his flock, something exacerbated now malcontents can no longer be burned at the stake (as far as is known) and Francis (b 1936; pope since 2013) may recall the words of a world-weary Benedict XIV (1675–1758; pope 1740-1758): “The pope commands, his cardinals do not obey, and the people do what they wish.”

Papal Bull issued by Urban VIII (1568–1644; pope 1623-1644).  By the mid-fifteenth century, papal bulls had ceased to be used for general public communications and were restricted to the more formal or solemn matters.  The papal lead seals (the spellings bulla & bolla both used) were attached to the vellum document by cords made of hemp or silk, looped through slits.

But popes still have great powers not subject to checks & balances or constitutional review, the best known of which is “papal infallibility”.  The Roman Catholic Church’s dogma of papal infallibility holds that a pope’s rulings on matters of faith and doctrine are infallibility correct and cannot be questioned and when making such statements, a pope is said to be speaking ex cathedra (literally “from the chair” (of the Apostle St Peter, the first pope)).  Although ex cathedra pronouncements had been issued since medieval times, as a point of canon law, the doctrine was codified first at the First Ecumenical Council of the Vatican (Vatican I; 1869–1870) in the document Pastor aeternus (shepherd forever).  Since Vatican I, the only ex cathedra decree has been Munificentissimus Deus (The most bountiful God), issued by Pius XII (1876–1958; pope 1939-1958) in 1950, in which was declared the dogma of the Assumption; that the Virgin Mary "having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory".  Pius XII never made explicit whether the assumption preceded or followed earthly death, a point no pope has since discussed although it would seem of some theological significance.  Prior to the solemn definition of 1870, there had been decrees issued ex cathedra.  In Ineffabilis Deus (Ineffable God (1854)), Pius IX (1792–1878; pope 1846-1878) defined the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, an important point because of the theological necessity of Christ being born free of sin, a notion built upon by later theologians as the perpetual virginity of Mary.  It asserts that Mary "always a virgin, before, during and after the birth of Jesus Christ", explaining the biblical references to brothers of Jesus either as children of Joseph from a previous marriage, cousins of Jesus, or just folk closely associated with the Holy Family.

Lindsay Lohan, posing with a can of Red Bull, photographed by Brian Adams (b 1959) for Harper’s Bazaar magazine, 2007.

Technically, papal infallibility may have been invoked only the once since codification but since the early post-war years, pontiffs have found ways to achieve the same effect, John Paul II (1920–2005; pope 1978-2005) & Benedict XVI (1927–2022; pope 2005-2013, pope emeritus 2013-2022) both adept at using what was in effect a personal decree a power available to one who sits at the apex of what is in constitutional terms an absolute theocracy.  Critics have called this phenomenon "creeping infallibility" and its intellectual underpinnings own much to the tireless efforts of Benedict XVI while he was head of the Inquisition (by then called the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) and now renamed the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith (DDF)) during the late twentieth century (the Holy See probably doesn't care but DDF is also the acronym, inter alia, for “drug & disease free” and (in gaming) “Doom definition file” and there's also the DDF Network which is an aggregator of pornography content).  So while not since 1950 formally invoked, popes have not been reluctant to “play the de facto infallibility card”, possibly thinking of the (probably apocryphal) remark attributed to John XXIII (1881-1963; pope 1958-1963): “When one is infallible, one has to be careful what one says.”

Bulla issued 17 July 1492 by Innocent VIII (1432–1492; pope 1484-1492) granting St Duthac’s Church (Tain) official permission to become a Collegiate Church.

But for a pope’s own purposes, a bulla can prove invaluable.  Pietro Angellerio (1215-1296) was for five months between July and December 1294 installed as Pope Celestine V.  Prior to his elevation, Celestine had for decades been a monk and hermit, living a anchorite existence in remote caves and subsisting on little more that wild vegetables, fruits, honey and the occasional locust, his unworldly background meaning he emerged as the ultimate compromise candidate, declared pope after a two-year deadlock in the church’s last non-conclave papal election.  The cardinals had been squabbling for all those two years which so upset the hermit in his cave that he wrote them a letter warning divine retribution would be visited upon them if they didn't soon elect a pope.  Realizing he was entirely un-political, without enemies and likely pliable, the cardinals promptly elected him by acclamation.

Lindsay Lohan mixing a Red Bull & mandarin juice while attending an event with former special friend Samantha Ronson (b 1977), Mandarin Oriental Hotel, London, February 2012.

Shocked, the hermit declined the appointment, only to have his own arguments turned on him, the cardinals insisting if he refused the office he would be defying God himself; trapped, he was crowned at Santa Maria di Collemaggio in Aquila, taking the name Celestine V.  The anchorite, lost in the world of power politics and low skulduggery was utterly unsuited to the role and within weeks expressed the wish to abdicate and return to his solitary cave in the Abruzzi Mountains.  The cardinals told him it wasn’t possible and only God could release him from the office (will all that implies) but they couldn’t stop him consulting the lawyers who drafted for him two bulls, the first codifying the regulations concerning a pope’s abdication and the second a sort of “enabling act”.  The second bull (Quia in futurum (for in the future)) restored the constitution (Ubi periculum (Where there lies danger)), and re-established the papal conclave (the constitution had been suspended by Adrian V (circa 1216-1276; pope 1276)).  The bulls having put in place the required mechanisms, while at Naples, Celestine V abdicated.

Brutum Fulmen issued by Pius V (1504–1572; pope 1566-1572), concerning the Damnation, Excommunication and Deposition of Elizabeth I (1533–1603; Queen of England & Ireland 1558-1603) by Thomas Barlow (circa 1608- 1691; Lord Bishop of Lincoln (1675–1691).

That done, he resigned, intending to return to his cave but his successor, Boniface VIII (circa 1231-1303; pope 1294-1303) had no wish to have such a puritanical loose cannon at large (he feared some dissidents might proclaim him antipope) and imprisoned him (in an agreeable circumstances) in the castle where ultimately he would die.   His resignation from the office was the last until Benedict XVI who in 2013 did rather better, retiring to a sort of papal granny flat in the Vatican where he lived (uniquely) as pope emeritus.  Celestine was canonized on 5 May 1313 by Clement V (circa 1265-1314; pope 1305-1314) and no subsequent pontiff has taken the name Celestine. 

1966 Lamborghini Miura P400 re-painted in what most would probably call hot pink but professionals list as fashion fuchsia (Hex: #F400A1; RGB: 244, 0, 161; CMYK: 0, 100, 34, 4).  The Miura (1966-1973) was named after a breed of fighting bull and was the first Lamborghini to borrow an identity from bullfighting and the first to wear the corporate logo featuring a bull.  In the film The Italian Job (1969), a Miura is shown being crushed by a bulldozer but that was filmic trickery using a second, pre-wrecked car and the orange Miura seen driven through the Alps still exists.  In many places the film's car is referred to as "tangerine" or "orange", both of which well describe the vivid hue which the factory listed as Arancio Miura (meaning "Miura Orange" although the use in Italian of arancio to mean the color "orange" is untypical, the word used usually in the sense of "orange tree").  In a technological quirk, some film sites call the car "red" but that's a function of some prints or photographs not correctly maintaining the integrity or the original.  The term “hot pink” (Hex: #FF69B4; RGB: 255, 105, 180; CMYK: 0, 59, 29, 0) is used very loosely and has become the general term for bright shades while “baby pink” is used casually of most pastels.  In theory, the color palette is infinitely variable but the practical limitation is the range able to be perceived by the human eye, illustrated by the announcement in April, 2025 of the “discovery” of a “new color” (“new” in the sense no human had ever seen it although it may well be common around the universe).

To this day Lamborghini still uses terms from the tradition of bullfighting for some models which perhaps is surprising given bullfighting is now not as socially respectable as it was during the 1960s but disapprobation of the “sport” is not new and Pius V (1504–1572; pope 1566-1572) as early as 1567 called the practice: “alien from Christian piety and charity”, “better suited to demons rather than men” and “public slaughter and butchery” fit for paganism but not Christendom.  Word nerds will be delighted to note Pius V’s ban on bullfighting was technically a “papal bull”.  De Salute Gregis Dominici (On the Salvation of the Lord’s Flock) was issued on 1 November 1, 1567 as a formal proclamation with the papal lead bulla attached and, as an official decree, it was binding upon Church and Christian princes.  Appalled by the cruelty, Pius called bullfighting “a sin” and condemned the events as “spectacles of the devil”, prohibiting Christians from attending or participating under pain of excommunication.  However, like many papal thought bubbles down the ages which never quite make it to the status of doctrine, his ban was soon ignored and after his death the edict quietly was allowed to lapse.  Predictably, in Spain and Portugal, where bullfighting had deep cultural & political roots, the bulla was either ignored or resisted and Philip II (1527–1598; King of Spain 1556-1598), while as devout a Catholic as any man, was known as Felipe el Prudente (Philip the Prudent) for a reason and quietly he turned the royal blind eye, allowing bullfighting to continue.

Gynandromorph

Gynandromorph (pronounced ji-nan-druh-mawrf, gahy-nan-druh-mawrf or jahy-nan-druh-mawrf)

(1) In biology, an organism exhibiting both male and female morphological characteristics.

(2) An insect, crustacean or bird literally having physical characteristics of both sexes, usually displaying a bilateral difference.

(3) A person having certain physical characteristics of both sexes (use now rare).

1895–1900: The construct was the Ancient Greek gýnandro(s) (gynandrous) + -morph.  It deconstructs as gyn- (from the Ancient Greek gynē (γυνή) (woman; female organism) + -andro- (from the Ancient Greek ἀνήρ & ἀνδρός (anēr & andros) (man; male organism) + -morph (from the Ancient Greek μορφή (morphē) (form; shape).  The word cab thus be understood as “female-male form”, an individual organism with a mix of both male and female physical traits, such exhibit such characteristics due typically to genetic or developmental anomalies.  Gynandromorph, gynandromorphism & gynandromorphy are nouns and gynandrous, gynandromorphic & gynandromorphous are adjectives; the noun plural is gynandromorphs.

In biological science, the terms cosexual, dichogamic and gynandromorph are all to describe states where the binaries “male” and “female” in some way co-exist and each is a distinct phenomenon: (1) Cosexual refers to organisms which simultaneously possess and can function as both male and female.  The state is best known in botany (hermaphroditic plants) but there are also such animals, the common earthworm a cosexual as they have both male and female reproductive organs and can mate with any other earthworm.  (2) A dichogamic is an organism which at different points in its life-cycle have male and female reproductive functions at different times in their lifecycle.  Dichogamy ensures self-fertilization is minimized and biologists distinguish between protandry (male phase precedes the female phase (best documented in the ways of the clownfish)) and protogyny (female phase precedes the male phase (noted in some wrasses).  (3) In zoology (prevalent particularly in entomology), a gynandromorph is an organism (insect, crustacean, bird etc) with both male and female physical characteristics, typically split across the body (ie one side male, one female), manifesting often in a distinctive and often dramatic “two-tone” body of different color left & right.  Although visually the creatures appear in this aspect usually to be exactly (ie 50/50) symmetrical, a gynandromorph’s expression of genitalia can vary greatly between instances of the phenomenon.

In the context of humans, the noun hermaphrodite (plural hermaphrodites) used to be the accepted technical term in human physiology to describe an individual in which both male and female reproductive organs (and sometimes also all or some of the secondary sex characteristics) were present (ie a cosexual), or in which the chromosomal patterns did not fall under typical definitions of male and female.  It’s no longer in general use to describe people (although it does still appear in technical publications (medicine or pathology) and is now considered offensive, “intersex” now the preferred term).  In the past, “hermaphrodite” was used even of some military platforms (including warships and tanks) because the labels “male” & “female” had been used of certain designs so “hermaphrodite” was applied to hybrid designs which combined features from both.  The noun androgyne refers to a person who expresses a combination of male and female characteristics, often in the context of gender identity or presentation; it is used of behavior, not biology.

True bibateral gynandromorphs: A tarantula (left), lobster (centre) and cardinal (right).  The physiology of the cardinal is typical of the phenomenon, a functional ovary on its left side, one functioning testis on its right; the mechanism which created the genetic anomaly was that inside its egg were two yokes which combined to give life to one bird, half male, half female.

Let That Be Your Last Battlefield: Star Trek (1969).

While there was nothing to suggest gynandromorphism was part of the plot-line, the visual device was used in “Let That Be Your Last Battlefield”, an episode in the third season (1969) of the US SF (science fiction) television show Star Trek.  The two central characters in the tale are to survivors of a war-torn planet, each half black and half white, the only difference between them being their colors were on different sides.  The script was an earnest (if unsubtle) critique of racism (then, as now, the central fault-line in US society) but, ominously (though realistically), the episode concludes with the pair still at each other’s throats.

Lindsay Lohan, SLS Hotel, Los Angeles, April 2009.

Although humans use all sorts of colors for body-detailing (lipstick, hair dyes, eye shadow etc), the “half one color, half another” motif has never been a thing.  Inadvertently though, it can be achieved.  In April 2009, photographs circulated of Lindsay Lohan in Los Angeles, attending the launch of A|X (Armani Xchange) Watches at the SLS Hotel, Beverley Hills, her strapless Balmain mini-dress much admired, the white fabric accenting her skin’s golden tan.  Next day however, a shot appeared of her from behind, suggesting the fake tan had been applied only to the front half.  It was a bit of a cheat shot because of the way the color-saturation was set but it seems, on the night, things might have looked a bit gynandromorphic.  

Revoke & Irrevocable

Revoke (pronounced ri-vohk)

(1) To take back or withdraw; annul, cancel, rescind or reverse; rescind or repeal.

(2) To bring or summon back.

(3) In certain card games, to fail to follow suit when possible and required (renege the more common term).

(4) Such an act or instance of revoking.

1300–1350: From the Middle English revoken, from the Latin revocāre (to call again; to call back; withdraw), the construct being re- (in the sense of “again”) + vocāre (to call).  The synonyms (depending on context) are countermand, nullify, recall and retract.  Revoke is a noun & verb, revoker is a noun, revoked & revoking are verbs and revokingly is an adverb; the noun plural is revokers.

Irrevocable (pronounced ih-rev-uh-kuh-buhl (U) or ih-ri-vohk-kuh-buhl (non-U))

Not to be revoked or recalled; unable to be changed, repealed or annulled; unalterable.

1350–1400: From the Middle English, from the Middle French irrévocable from the Latin irrevocābilis (that which cannot be recalled, unalterable), the construct being ir- (the prefix an assimilated form of in- (not, opposite of)) + revocabilis (able to be revoked).  Irrevocable is an adjective, irrevocableness & irrevocability are nouns, and irrevocably is an adverb; the noun plural is irrevocabilities.

The trust, Rupert Murdoch and irrevocably

The trust in its modern form is an invention of English common law.  Although the trustee concept was a part of Roman civil law, its operation essentially was restricted to the a class of ownership of assets held by someone who would now be known as the executor or administrator of the estate of a deceased; the administrator would be the legal owner (though not necessarily the possessor) of the goods but their rights to them was limited to distributing them (or if sold or dissolved, their value) to the beneficiaries named in the deceased testamentary documents (will).  The novel innovation of the English common law was to apply a similar concept to the property of someone living.  During the Crusades (the expeditions by Christian military formations between 1095-1291 attempting to retake the Holy Land (Jerusalem and its environs)), it was the practice for a land-owning Crusader to convey (ie transfer ownership) his property to another so the estate could continue to operate as part of the feudal land system, this done on the basis that upon his return to England, the property would revert to him.  Most such arrangements were honored but some were not and because English law regarded land title as absolute, whomever was the legal “owner” of the land could defend that right against any claim.  A subject’s only recourse was to seek justice by petitioning the king and in most cases the matter would be referred to the chancellor (an office something like a mix of prime-minister & minister of justice) who would decide each case on its merits.  That of course resulted in inconsistencies and led to the development of the Court of Chancery and the emergence of the principles of the law of “equity”, designed both to remove inconsistencies and avoid the injustices sometimes the result of the strict application of the rigid rules of the common law.

Thus the emergence of the trust in which property could be transferred from one to another but with rights of the legal “owner” of the property in the trust restricted by the terms of the trust (typically that the property or its proceeds could be used or applied only to those beneficiaries named); the “legal owner” was thus really the trustee (the administrator).  It was a mechanism which proved useful over the centuries including during the wars of religion when trusts could be created to protect property from confiscation.  The trust is a flexible beast and a variety exist including the “secret trust” (although in most places they’re not as secret as once they were) and although most trusts formally are created an so-named, if an arrangement is found in substance and operation to be “a trust in all nut name”, a court can declare it to be a trust (technically a “constructive trust”).  Trusts are widely used today, mostly tax-minimization platforms because, as a general principle, income gained by a trust is not taxable until paid out to a beneficiary.  That has made trusts of great interest to those advocating tax-reform but because among the most enthusiastic users of trusts are the rich and politicians (society’s most dynamic and influential symbiosis whether in New York, Moscow, Beijing, Islamabad or Pyongyang), not much is likely to change.  A particular flavor of trust is the “irrevocable trust” which, as the name suggests, should be one in which the terms cannot be altered.

Washoe County Courthouse (1910), Reno Nevada.  Built in Classical Revival style, it first gained national attention when the combination of liberal residency requirements and liberal divorce laws created a "divorce boom" which made a significant contribution to the Nevada economy.

In 1999 Rupert Murdoch (b 1931), at the time of his second divorce, created the Murdoch Family Trust (MFT), into which was transferred the shareholdings of a number of companies and the terms of the trust were such that the succession plans for his media empire were settled.  The trust grants the family eight votes, Mr Murdoch controlling four, each of his eldest four children holding one; upon Mr Murdoch’s death, his four would have been distributed equally to them.  The device was created as an “irrevocable trust” as part of the terms of the divorce, the ex-wife waiving the right to a much higher payout in return for the “irrevocable” protection the terms of the trust afforded the four children.  In December 2023, Mr Murdoch filed papers in Reno, Nevada seeing to amend (ie in the technical sense “partially revoke”) the terms of the “irrevocable” MFT to the extent that his oldest son would assume full control over News Corp, the holding company which manages literally hundreds of assets (the best-known of which is now Fox News), excluding the other three siblings.  This was about operational control and did not affect the children’s financial stake in the trust.  The matter (In the Matter of the Doe 1 Trust) was in September 2024 heard before a probate commissioner, in camera, at Washoe County Courthouse, the parties (1) Rupert Murdoch and the eldest son on one side and (2) the three other siblings on the other.

Mr Murdoch had not previously been much associated with the state of Nevada but his legal team chose to file in Nevada because the state has the nation’s most flexible (they like to use the term “progressive”) statutes relating to trust law and it was thus concluded it was there that the highest chance existed for amending an “irrevocable” trust.  The Nevada approach in these matters in interesting in that the state permits “decanting”, a process by which a trustee can transfer assets from one trust into a new trust with different terms, in effect modifying the original trust in that the assets become subject to different rules.  Decant (inter alia “to pour from one vessel into another”) was from the French From French décanter, from the Medieval Latin dēcanthāre, the construct being dē- (of; from) +‎ canthus (beak of a cup or jug).  For administrative simplicity, decanting does not require the approval of a court but can be subject to challenge if it’s alleged a trustee lacks the requisite discretionary authority under the terms of the original trust document.

Wedding day: Rupert Murdoch (b 1931) & model Jerry Hall (b 1956).  The ceremony was conducted at Church of England church of St Bride's, Fleet Street, London, March 2016.  The couple divorced in 2022.

Under Nevada law, despite the name, an “irrevocable trust” is not “irrevocable” in an absolute sense because beneficiaries and trustees can agree to modify the terms of such a trust, even if the trust is irrevocable.  This process (a “non-judicial settlement agreement”) avoids the need for a court hearing, thereby reducing the expense and time required and exemplifies the sort of “flexibility” Nevada’s corporate regulators cite as reasons why the state should be a trustee’s jurisdiction of choice.  However, Nevada does require any modifications be consistent with the trust's purpose and not in violation with its fundamental terms and moreover the usual principles of equity governing trusts apply: there can be no unconscionable conduct.  A Nevada court also can modify or terminate an irrevocable trust if the trust's purpose has become impossible, impracticable, or illegal, or if circumstances not anticipated by the original grantor arise.  In that the remit of equity is wider than in contract law where courts have always been reluctant to “write contracts” although they will correct technical errors and a Nevada court can appoint a “trust protector”, an officer with the authority to amend trust terms, change beneficiaries, or even (under specified conditions) terminate the trust.  This authority can extend to the creation of a “directed trust” (a special class of constructed trust) which allow the grantor or beneficiaries to appoint an entity or individual to oversee specific trust decisions, which can include modifications (all of which are subject to the supervision and ultimately the approval of the court).

The decision of the probate commission in Reno will not have pleased Mr Murdoch.  In a 96 page opinion published on 9 December, the commissioner found Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch (b 1971; the eldest son) had acted in “bad faith” in their attempts to change the terms of the irrevocable MFT, suggesting the pair had organized a “carefully crafted charade” to “permanently cement Lachlan Murdoch’s executive roles” inside the empire “regardless of the impacts such control would have over the companies or the beneficiaries” of the MFT.  He didn’t go as far as one New Zealand judge who once damned evidence brought before him as “an orchestrated litany of lies” but the tone was still severe.

One untypical aspect of the matter is that it wasn’t directly about money; most trust cases involve money, indeed, a financial motivation is at the root of most civil matters.  Mr Murdoch was moved to seek to change the terms of the MFT because he’d concluded Lachlan was the only one of the four children who shared his views on how the editorial position of affected media outlets (most notably Fox News) should be maintained, the other three tending to a more liberal (in US terms) stance.  Interestingly, although that may appear a family’s ideological squabble, the documents which emerged from the discovery process in the matter of Dominion Voting Systems v Fox News (Delaware Superior Court: N21C-03-257; N21C-11-082) which culminated (thus far) in Fox settling the matter by paying Dominion some US$790 million, the alternative being to continue the case and allow more of Fox’s internal documents to enter the public domain) suggested that Mr Murdoch’s decisions about such things are led more by a commercial imperative than any political commitment.  In other words, Fox News should do what it does because it attracted viewers (the product) to deliver to advertisers (the customers); were the Fox News audience suddenly to have a moment of mass-catharsis and become a bunch of seed-eating, basket-weaving hippie vegans, so would shift the Fox News editorial stance.

The usual purpose of an irrevocable trust is to protect the beneficiary (or beneficiaries) from others but they have been recommended for those who might be advantaged by being “protected from themselves”.

So what Mr Murdoch wishes to ensure is that Fox News keeps on doing what it does (and whether one agrees with it or not, few would deny at what it does it’s the best in the world) because that is the path to the highest financial benefits for the MFT.  Lachlan understands and the others don’t so Mr Murdoch is trying to protect the three dissident children from themselves.  Whether defiant or deluded, the dissident triumvirate were pleased with the recommendation: “We welcome the commissioner’s decision and hope that we can move beyond this litigation to focus on strengthening and rebuilding relationships among all family members.”  It’s there’s a Murdoch family Christmas dinner, there might be what a diplomatic communiqué would describe as a “frank and robust exchange of views”.

Wedding day: Rupert Murdoch (b 1931) & molecular biologist Elena Zhukova (b 1956).  The ceremony was conducted at Mogara, Mr Murdoch’s Californian vineyard, June 2024.

The procedure in Nevada is the commissioner’s opinion will now be referred to a district court judge, sitting as a court of probate.  The judge can issue a ruling wholly favourable to one side or the other or in some way structure a decision which gives something to each; there will thus be one appeal or two and that may trigger more so although it’s possible the matter may not be finalized before Mr Murdoch dies (God forbid), he recently celebrated his fifth marriage so appears to remain robust and in rude good health.

Woggle

Woggle (pronounced whog-al)

(1) In the scouting movement, a neckerchief clasp or slide, originally a loop or ring of leather.

(2) In dialect, an alternative spelling of waggle (archaic).

1921-1923: The origin is contested.  Some say it was a coining in Australian English, from the earlier US form boondoggle before being popularized by use in the fourteenth edition of Scouting for Boys (1929), by Lieutenant-General Lord Baden-Powell (1857–1941; founder of The Boy Scouts Association) and first published in 1908.  Boondongle (which existed also as boon dongle) was an Americanism with the same meaning.  The alternative history is that 1920 or 1921 the woggle was invented by Francis "Skipper" Gidney (1890-1928), chief of Gilwell scout camp in London where there still stands Gidney Cabin, now used as a training centre.  Woggle is a noun and woggled & woggling are verbs; the noun plural is woggles.

A classic scout woggle woven in leather (left), a leather woggle with convenient press-stud (centre) and a plastic “woggle” with the Scouting fleur-de-lis (right) which technically is a scarf ring but the term “woggle” tends to be applied if used for a scout's scarf.  Plastic “woggles” appeared as early as the 1960s.

Boondoggle in 1935 gained a second meaning when The New York Times decided it referred to “wasteful or pointless government activities”, the link to the Scout neckerchief accessory being the claim Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s (FDR, 1882–1945, US president 1933-1945) administration was including in its “New Deal” (a series of public work projects and domestic programs) a scheme under which people were being employed to make the small leather braids.  A person labeled a boondoggler is thus “a person who boondoggles; a wastrel”.  The term “white elephant” has a similar meaning although its use has never been restricted to government spending.  In the 1960s, the term moondoggle emerged to describe a particular strain of the boondongle: The space program.  The word was a variant of boondongle and referenced the assertion the immense effort & expenditure being devoted to sending men to the moon was a waste of resources and something of no apparent use.  The origin of boondongle remains murky but may have been based on hornswoggle, first recorded in 1829 and also of unknown origin but believed to be a jocular coinage like the contemporary absquatulate.  Presumably the inspiration was horns + waggle with humorous faux ablaut or in combination with wobble, possibly influenced by the image of lassoed steers trying to escape by moving their head.  In slang, it means “to deceive, dupe or trick.

Scarf buckle (left), an unusual scarf triple ring (centre) and a scarf knot ring (right).

The term “woggle” is specific to scouting but in fashion, devices to tie or otherwise secure scarves are common and are described differently according to their design and function.  The most common are the (1) scarf ring (a circular or decorative ring through which the scarf is threaded, allowing for elegant draping or knotting), (2) scarf clip (a clip with a hinge that holds the scarf in place; these often feature decorative elements to complement the scarf), (3) scarf slide (a device with multiple openings or loops to weave the scarf through, providing various styling options), (4) scarf pin (a brooch or pin used to secure a scarf in place, used often by those wanting to maintain styling theme), (5) scarf buckle (a structured device, similar to a belt buckle, designed for threading and securing scarves and (6) scarf knot ring (a specialized device designed for creating knots, allowing a scarf to be secured in a number of shapes.

Not all scarf users secure their scarves: Lindsay Lohan tends to prefer hers looped or loose.

Men in woggles: Leadership of the Boy Scouts of America, National Scout Jamboree, Washington DC, 1937.  The scouts have always been in the avant-garde of fashion.

Girl scouts: The yellow line indicates the height of the obstacle which would be set for their “woggle hopping”.

“Woggle hopping” is a rule in scouting, used in the physical training program and first documented in England in 1947.  It is a form of high jump which states a scout should be able to jump over an object at the height of their woggle, a form of “equalization” similar to the old rule in schoolboy rugby whereby teams were formed on the basis of weight rather than age.