HANUMAN

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 25 April 2012

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HANUMAN  (n. pl. -S)

Definition(s):

1. (n.) a small monkey of southern Asia
2. (n.) in Hinduism, the monkey god and helper of Rama

Useful info for word game players:

• Front hooks: (none)
• Back hooks: -S
• Anagrams: (none)
• Longer extensions: (none)
• Wraparounds: (none)
• Other Spellings: (none)
• Related Forms: ENTELLUS

Current theme:

Monkey business

Epilogue:

Biologically, the HANUMAN is one of a family of slender, long-tailed monkeys known as LANGURS (the word LANGUR derives from a Sanskrit word meaning “having a tail”).  Its name has great significance in several Indian religions: Hanuman is a monkey god described in the ancient Sanskrit epic Ramayana, and he is variously associated with strength, courage, and devotion.

The HANUMAN monkey is also called ENTELLUS, probably after the hero Entellus, who is described in Virgil’s Aeneid (c. 25 BC) as winning a boxing match against a Trojan named Dares.  In most such ancient boxing matches, the participants wore CESTUSES: a CESTUS being a battle glove usually made of leather and sometimes weighted with metal or other weaponry.  Needless to say, these were brutal and bloody contests.  What any of this has to do with monkeys is anyone’s guess, but it is all pretty fascinating nonetheless.

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