My thanks to Jose and Pandelis for their contributions to this problem. Pandelis, I found your "son of" explanation very interesting. I didn't know that Greeks used this construction to produce names, even though it is quite common in several other European & Asian cultures. My knowledge of the Greek language is confined to a few numbers and several choice swear words ...and its been so long since I've needed to use them I've probably forgotten how to say them properly.
Jose, your posting is the advice I got from Kew when I asked them. The trouble is, Kew says "Aerides" is neuter, hence Aerides roseum. According to Pandelis, it is masculine, ie Aerides roseus. How can a masculine "son of" end up producing a neuter name ? The implication is that Kew considers the "-ides" ending to be of Latin derivation rather Greek origin, but the only offering I can find in Stearn is under "Greek Substantival Suffixes": "-ides (f.): indicates resemblance; noun base." Pandelis' "son of air" (masculine) seems more likely than Stearn's "resembling air" (feminine), but neither produces a neuter "roseum". Anyone ?? Peter O'Byrne in Singapore _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) [email protected] http://orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids_orchidguide.com
