![]() ![]() Well, in Greek, Latin, and even historically in English, hippocampus meant "seahorse," due to the fact that seahorses are tiny adorable horsey-looking sea monsters. So what do horselike sea monsters have to do with brain bits? In Greek and Roman mythology, hippocampus/kampos often referred specifically to the aquatic equestrian creatures that pulled Poseidon/Neptune's chariot. (Interestingly, kampos is also likely related to the Greek kampe, or caterpillar.) The word itself is an English adoption of the Late Latin hippocampus, from the Greek hippokampos, which is comprised of hippos ("horse," as anyone with any familiarity with etymology probably already knows) + kampos ("sea monster"). It is vital for consolidating information from short-term memory to long-term memory and for spatial navigation, so damage to it (such as that from Alzheimer's or oxygen deprivation) results in memory loss and disorientation. As part of the limbic system, it plays a role in controlling emotion, memory and the nervous system. But the context surrounding why the hippocampus got its name is surprisingly fascinating:Īs you may know, the hippocampus is a component of the vertebrate brain located in the medial temporal lobe. I know, this one seems sort of obvious-and maybe even common knowledge-given the compound structure and recognizable roots. ![]() Please do not cite or rely upon AI tools when asking or answering questions on r/etymology. Language models are an emerging tool that can often give assertive but specious answers. Keep your posts and comments friendly and remember the human. Disputed origins should have a warningĬonnections and word origins that are speculative, disputed, or otherwise specious should be shared with wording that reflects the uncertain origin to avoid being misleading. If you still have questions, by all means post here if your question is totally solved, consider sharing the answer with the community instead! 4. ![]() Perform basic researchĪs a courtesy to other users of the community, before posting a question, please use the resources in the subreddit sidebar to try to find an answer. As well as the history and development of words, on-topic content also includes the origin of phrases, which deal with changes in meaning. Try to capture what's interesting about the etymology. Word origins posted here should have more to offer than just a link to a dictionary definition. View or add to our book list! Useful links Etymology is the study of the history of words and idioms, their origins, and how their form and meaning have changed over time. ![]()
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