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Vela: Difference between revisions
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==Etymology== | ==Etymology== | ||
Vela, Latin for the sails of a ship, is a constellation in the southern sky. It was originally part of a larger constellation, the ship Argo Navis, which was later divided into three parts, the others being Carina | Vela, Latin for the sails of a ship, is a constellation in the southern sky. It was originally part of a larger constellation, the ship Argo Navis, which was later divided into three parts, the others being [[Carina]] and [[Puppis]], plus a subordinate division of Argo now called Pyxis Nautica, the Nautical Box or Mariner's Compass, and which used to be called Malus, the Mast. | ||
The word Vela comes from the Indo-European root *weg-1 'To weave a web'. Suffixed form *weg-slo-; veil,Vela (sails, plural of velum), velarium, velum (sail), vexilum (a flag, banner, or ensign. The weblike part of a feather; the vane), voile (a fabric of plain weave used especially for making dresses and curtains), reveal1,revelation, (these words from Latin velum, 'a sail, curtain, veil'). [Pokorny weg- 1117. Watkins] | The word Vela comes from the Indo-European root *weg-1 'To weave a web'. Suffixed form *weg-slo-; veil,Vela (sails, plural of velum), velarium, velum (sail), vexilum (a flag, banner, or ensign. The weblike part of a feather; the vane), voile (a fabric of plain weave used especially for making dresses and curtains), reveal1,revelation, (these words from Latin velum, 'a sail, curtain, veil'). [Pokorny weg- 1117. Watkins] | ||
To reveal something is etymologically to 'remove a veil' from it.<ref>[http://www.constellationsofwords.com/Constellations/Vela.htm Constellations of Words]</ref> | To reveal something is etymologically to 'remove a veil' from it.<ref>[http://www.constellationsofwords.com/Constellations/Vela.htm Constellations of Words]</ref> | ||