URAEUS

TileHead’s Word of the Day for 16 May 2012

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Word of the Day:

  URAEUS  (n. pl. URAEI or URAEUSES)


Definition(s):

1. (n.) the figure of the sacred serpent (a cobra in an upright position), often depicted on the headdress of ancient Egyptian rulers and deities

Useful info for word game players:

• Front hooks: (none)
• Back hooks: (none)
• Anagrams: AUREUS
• Longer extensions: uraeusES
• Wraparounds: (none)
• Other Spellings: (none)
• Related Forms: (none)

Current theme:

Ancient Egypt

Epilogue:

The upright cobra symbol was identified with Wadjit, the patron goddess of Lower Egypt.  A falcon symbol was similarly identified with Nekhbet, the patron goddess of Upper Egypt.  Each became symbols of sovereignty for the kings of those lands, and upon the unification of Egypt (c. 3000 B.C)  they were frequently joined together as a symbol of unity, such as in the PSCHENT headdress worn by most later pharaohs. 

The modern word for this cobra symbol bears little resemblance to the ancient demotic Egyptian form y’rt, characteristically written without vowels.  The reason is that the word URAEUS is a Latin form of a Greek word (ouraios, “pertaining to the tail”) for the symbol.  The symbol is also called the “sacred serpent” or “sacred asp.”

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