Last week, HogPro All-Pro Rahner13 joined in the discussion about what the ‘Hog’ in Hog-warts referred to and pointed us to Ms. Rowling’s belief that she first heard or saw the word at a flower show. The bottom of the Lexicon page Rahner13 linked to had this invitation:

If you want to delve into the etymology of the words, names, and phrases in the Harry Potter universe, you need to visit What’s In A Name. The editor of this excellent site has created the ultimate HP etymological resource.

That was too tempting for me to resist. I went to the What’s in a Name site and found that it was indeed encyclopedic. It is attractive, well organized, and professionally laid out (it hasn’t been updated for Deathly Hallows names but the site tells you that up front). The confusion of “source” for “meaning” and “intention,” however, my biggest objection to name etymologies, was evident in the few names I looked up. I decided to write the editor of this excellent site and whine a little. [Read more…]

Before we get too far from New Year’s Day, here is an interesting possibility. Could the ‘Hog’ in ‘Hogwarts’ be more heavenly than porcine? According to Robert Trexler, friend of this weBlog and authority on George MacDonald, there is a possibility that ‘Hog,’ at least in one Scottish celebration, Hogamanay (“New Year’s” to us), the ‘Hog’ means ‘holy.’ He writes: [Read more…]