Dental – Mentor
- PostEagle
- November 30, 2016
- Word Etymology
- 0 Comments
The word for today is – DENTAL – which comes from the Latin word – DENS, DENTIS – meaning tooth. A dentist is one who works on your teeth and helps to keep them clean. The Romans did not have peppermint toothpaste but they wanted their teeth to be squeaky clean so they used powdered mouse-brains to clean their teeth. They also used powdered horn, oyster shell ash and the ashes of dog’s teeth mixed with honey. The Romans generally had good teeth; they did not have sugar to rot them.
The word for today is – MENTOR – which is defined as a wise advisor or coach. Usually a mentor is someone you admire, someone whose advice you seek; sometimes it can be an uncle who watches over you. Thousands of years ago a Greek hero, named Odysseus (Ulysses), king of Ithica, left his wife and son to go to fight in the Trojan War. He assigned his servant, Mentor to care for his family while he was gone. Unfortunately, Odysseus was absent for 20 years. The war lasted ten years and it took him ten more years to sail home. The storms, shipwrecks, and adventures on the sea detained him. When he finally arrived home he learned that the goddess Athena who was fond of him had intervened and helped Mentor make the right decisions. Mentor, Odysseus’ servant with the help of the goddess had properly guided Penelope and Telemachus in the 20 year period.