Peter [O'Byrne] asked : "Do you know if the derived Latin noun [Encyclia]
is neuter or female ?"
I thought I knew but, since my classes of Latin were most elementary and
were taken many years ago, I felt it was desirable to check with a specialist.
My gratitude to Pedro Ortiz Valdivieso (Colombia) who kindly provided the
following info :
"Actually, the Greek verb is enkykleomai which means 'I encircle'.
The adjective enkyklios has several meanings including 'circular' (for
example, in the sense of encyclical letters) ; from that adjective, the
feminine form (enkyklia) was applied to a genus, transforming it into a
feminine substantive."
[my translation]
***********
Regards,
Viateur
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