RUPESTRIAN

[Dr. Goodword]

• rupestrian •

Pronunciation: ru-pes-tree-yên • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Adjective

Meaning: 1. Done on stone or rocks. 2. Made of stone or rocks.

Notes: Today's adjective is one of three that describe different relationships to rocks. Rupestral refers to things that grow on rocks, as rupestral mosses. Rupestrine refers to animal and vegetable species that live among rocks, as a rupestrine mountain goat. Today's word refers to things done to rocks, as rupestrian sculpture or paintings.

In Play: Rupestrian is used most widely to refer to things on rocks: "Kokopelli is a rupestrian figure created by the ancestors of the Hopi that is found in many old cave dwellings in southwest Colorado." However, the word is being used more and more to refer to what is done with rocks: "Stonehenge would seem to be a rupestrian temple built by ancient Britons even before the arrival of the Celts."

Word History: Today's Good Word was borrowed from Modern Latin rupestris "on or of rock", an adjective derived from Latin rupes "rock". The original PIE word, from which the Latin word descended, was rupeis "rock, crag" as a noun and "rip up, break out of" as a verb. It emerged in Serbian as rupa "hole" and in English probably as rubble and rubbish. (Today's Good Word was suggestion by another new Lexiterian of the Alpha Agora, known there only as Grogie.)

[Slava]

• rupestrian •
Meaning: 1. Done on stone or rocks. 2. Made of stone or rocks.

Notes: Today's adjective is one of three that describe different relationships to rocks. Rupestral refers to things that grow on rocks, as rupestral mosses. Rupestrine refers to animal and vegetable species that live among rocks, as a rupestrine mountain goat. Today's word refers to things done to rocks, as rupestrian sculpture or paintings.

Not to throw stones, but we have other rocky adjectives out there. One that recently saw much activity on this site is rupicoline; living among or growing on rocks; rock inhabiting. http://www.alphadictionary.com/bb/viewt ... rupicoline

Then we have Petrine, based on the name Peter, which means rock or stone. Thus we get, "Thou are Peter, and upon this rock I shall build my church."

Do we see a "pet" connection in the "pes" of the rocky words first listed above?

[LukeJavan8]

And the caves at Lascaux.