www.alphadictionary.com

• demogorgon •

Pronunciation: dee-mê-gor-gên • Hear it!

Part of Speech: Noun

Meaning: 1. A terrifying classical demon of the underworld. 2. Anyone or anything beyond terrifying or horrible.

Notes: Demogorgon is a useful metaphor for Satan or the devil. Some prefer to capitalize the word, Demogorgon. The adjective is demogorgonian [di-mê-gêr-go-ni-ên]. It has no siblings or relatives in a larger family, though gorgon does.

In Play: Since the original word referred to a mythological creature, let's only focus on figurative usages: "Elsbeth seems to have entirely abandoned tailordom, or 'Demogorgon', as she was pleased to call it." Elsewise: "Dimly distinguishable amidst the culinary chaos, the master chef, the demogorgon of the kitchen, commanded and countermanded his poor underlings."

Word History: The constituents of today's compound noun are recognizable, but there is a missing link in its history. The word was created as a Latin word borrowed from Greek. The original constituents should have been daimon "god" + gorgos "grim, terrible", but no such compound can be found in Greek or Latin. When Latin borrowed the first word, it transliterated it as daemon later demon. Demogorgon was most likely created by a Christian scholar around 350-400 AD. Greek daimon was originally an extended form of PIE da- "divide, share" + -mon, perhaps a word meaning "provider". Da- shows up in Russian dat' "to give", Serbian dati "to give", Sanskrit dati "cuts, divides", Persian das "sickle", Greek daiomai "divide, share". The origin of gorgos "grim", terrible" is unknown, though there are a few words that suggest an original PIE word, like Old Irish garg "raw, wild", Russian groznyi "terrible" (as in Ivan Groznyi "Ivan the Terrible"), and Armenian karer "hard". (Now a word of thanks to wordmaster and active Agoran George Kovac for suggesting today's highly unlikely Good Word.)

I'm wondering if Mr. Kovac is a fan of "Stranger Things". Good show.

The sound of this word brings to mind two others, only one of which is likely to have any etymological relation:

- gorgonian -- sea fans, soft corals so named on account of visual similarity to the hair of Medusa, probably the most familiar gorgon.

- demagogue -- almost surely unrelated, except by behavior.

I'm wondering if Mr. Kovac is a fan of "Stranger Things". Good show.

Agreed. I've watched the seasons more than one time.

Slava, Luke,

No, I have not yet viewed Stranger Things, but I will look into it on your recommendations. The series received very favorable critical reviews.

As to my source materials for finding Good Words to suggest for the Agora, I am reminded of a popular quote (apocryphally attributed to Einstein, Coco Chanel and others) to the effect that “The secret to creativity is knowing how to hide your sources.” I always had problems with that glib aphorism, and I’m glad to know Einstein probably never said it. I’m always happy share my sources.

My source for “demogorgon” was not the acclaimed Stranger Things television series. It was old school, old media: the 19th century novel. In an early chapter, Starbuck (the steadfast first mate in Moby Dick, not the lieutenant in the television series Battlestar Galactica) is privately disturbed that the crew of the Pequod, after a fiery speech from Ahab announcing the true mission of this voyage, erupts in wild enthusiasm for the captain’s obsession. Starbuck says to himself, “The white whale is their demogorgon.”

I somehow remember that as I had to look up the word.