Capricious

• PostEagle
• May 28, 2021
• Word Etymology
• 0 Comments

The word for today is – CAPRICIOUS – which means TO BE ERRATIC, TO BE SUDDEN OR IMPULSIVE IN ACTING. It comes from the Latin word for – GOAT – which is CAPRA. Goats act in an impulsive way. They leap and jump.

Since the original taxi was a horse drawn carriage which bounced a lot on dirt roads it soon became known as a cap, which later was changed to cab. The words CAPRICE, and CAPER also come from CAPRA.

The French word for goat is – BOUC – from which we get the word – BUTCHER.

The chief Roman and Greek god was Jupiter (Zeus) who was nourished on goat’s milk. When his goat died he covered his shield with the goat skin. This shield became the symbol of protection and was called – AEGIS. Today the word AEGIS means PROTECTION, SPONSORSHIP.

The word –TRAGEDY – also has to do with goats. When the Greek farmer slaughtered a goat, he was pierced by the shrill, almost human cry of the goat. The word for the cry of the goat is – TRAJEKOS.