Taurus 10: A Red Cross nurse

The word red is a derivative of the root reudh-1 which means r e d, ruddy.1 Its p a r o n y m s i n c l u d e r o bu s t , r o u ge , r u be l l a , r u b r i c , r u b y , r u d d y ( h a v i n g a h e a l t h y, r e d d i s h c o l o r ) r u st , a n d r u t i l e ( a r e d , r e d d i s h - b r ow n o r b l a ck m i n e r a l t h a t i s t h e m a j o r s o u r c e o f t i t a n i u m ). 2 T h e w o r d c r o s s d e s c e n d s f r o m t he O ld E n g l i s h c r o s a n d m o r e re m o t e l y f r o m t h e L a t i n c r u x m e a n i n g t h e st a k e o r c r o s s o n w h i ch c r i m i n a ls w e r e i m p a le d o r h a n g e d h e n c e f i g u ra t i v e l y i t i mp l i e s t o r t u r e , t r o u b le , misery.3 T h e w o r d n u r s e d e s c e n d s f r o m t h e r oo t ( s) n u - w h i c h me a n s t o s w i m, f l o w , l e t , f l o w ; s uc k l e . I t s ot h e r d e r i v a t i v e s i n c l u d e n o u r i s h , n u t r it io n , and nurture.4 T H E M E S : T h e f i r st t h e m e c on c e r n s H E A L T H . A s s h o w n a b o v e , o n e o f the p a r on y m s o f nurse i s t he word n u t r i t io u s . A c c o r d i n g t o t he M a cM i l l a n D i c t i o n a r y , n u t r i t io u s fo o d s p r o v i d e t h e s u b s t a n c e s t h a t p e op l e n e e d i n or d e r t o b e h e a lt h y . 5 N o t s u r p r i s i n g l y , t h e w o r d s healthy, healthful and health -giving are all synonyms of nutritious, and v i c e v e r s a . 6 T w o o f t h e p a r o n y m s o f r e d a r e t h e w o r d s r o b u st a n d r u d d y. D e f i n i t i on s o f t h e f o r m e r i n c l u d e f ul l o f h e a l t h a n d st r e n g t h ; v i g o r o u s a n d p o we r f u l l y b u i l t ; s t u r d y . 7 A c o m m o n d e f i n i t i on o f t h e l a t t e r i s having a healthy, reddish color. A s e c o n d t he m e c o n c e r n s P A IN a n d S U F F E R I NG . Re c a l l t ha t t he k e y w o r d n u r s e h a s s e v e r a l d e f i n i t i o n s, t w o o f w h i c h a r e a p e r s o n
1 Watkins, C. (2000), The American Heritage Dictionary of Indo European Roots, p. 71 2 http://onelook.com/?w=rutile&ls=a 3 http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=cross 4 Watkins, C. (2000), The American Heritage Dictionary of Indo European Roots, p. 81 5 http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/american/nutritious 6 http://thesaurus.com/browse/nutritious 7 http://education.yahoo.com/reference/dictionary/entry/robust Starling Hunter 2011 1

e d u c a t e d a n d t r a i n e d t o c a r e f o r t h e s i c k o r d i s a b l e d a n d t o t re a t c a r e f u l l y , e sp e ci a ll y i n o r d e r t o p r e v e n t p a i n .
8

Standing in marked

c o n t r a s t i s t he k e y w o r d c r o s s w h i c h d e s c e n d s f r o m t h e L a t i n c r u x , t he s t a k e u p on w h i c h c r i m i n a l s w e re i mp a l e d a n d w h i c h f i g u r a t i v e l y i m p li e d torture, trouble, and misery.

8 http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/nurse Starling Hunter 2011 2