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Origin and history of Persephone

Persephone

wife of Hades, queen of the netherworld, identified with Kore, daughter of Zeus and Demeter, from Greek Persephone. De Vaan writes that "The name was always considered obscure" until a thorough investigation published in 2006 reported that the original form was persophatta, "as found in eight attestations, seven of which are on 5th c. BC Attic vases (by seven different painters)." He analyzes it as *perso-, cognate with Sanskrit parsa- "sheaf of corn," + a second element from the PIE root *gwhen- "to hit, strike" (see bane) thus "a female thresher of corn."

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bane(n.)

Middle English bane, from Old English bana "killer, slayer, murderer, a worker of death" (human, animal, or object), also "the devil," from Proto-Germanic *banon, cognate with *banja- "wound" (source also of Old Frisian bona "murderer," Old Norse bani "death; that which causes death," Old High German bana "death, destruction," Old English benn "wound," Gothic banja "stroke, wound"), a word of no certain IE etymology. The sense of "that which causes ruin or woe" is attested from 1570s. Related: Baneful.

Kore

in Greek mythology, the daughter of Zeus and Demeter, also called Persephone in her aspect as Hades's wife, from Greek korē "maiden," from PIE *korwo- "growing" (hence "adolescent"), from suffixed form of root *ker- (2) "to grow."

Proserpina

in Roman religion, one of the greater gods, daughter of Ceres and wife of Pluto; a Latin (or Etruscan) corruption or modification of Greek Persephonē (see Persephone), perhaps influenced by Latin proserpere "to creep forth" on the notion of the germination of plants.

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    Demeter
    , the Olympian goddess of agriculture and useful vegetation, protectress of the social order and of marriage, mother of Persephone...
    Orca
    "killer whale," introduced as a generic term for the species by 1841, from earlier use in scientific names, from Latin orca "cetacean, a kind of whale." Earlier in English, orc, ork "large marine mammal, deadly sea-creature" (by mid-17c.), from French orque, had been used vaguely
    pamphlet
    "small, unbound treatise," late 14c., pamflet, "brief written text; poem, tract, small book," from Anglo-Latin panfletus, which probably is a popular short form of "Pamphilus, seu de Amore" ("Pamphilus, or about Love"), a short 12c. Latin love poem popular and widely copied in th
    courage
    c. 1300, corage, "heart (as the seat of emotions)," hence "spirit, temperament, state or frame of mind,"from Old French corage "heart, innermost feelings; temper" (12c., Modern French courage), from Vulgar Latin *coraticum (source of Italian coraggio, Spanish coraje), from Latin
    determine
    late 14c., determinen, "to settle, decide upon; state definitely; fix the bounds of; limit in time or extent," also "come to a firm decision or definite intention" (to do something), from Old French determiner (12c.) and directly from Latin determinare "to enclose, bound, set lim
    adventure
    c. 1200, aventure, auenture "that which happens by chance, fortune, luck," from Old French aventure (11c.) "chance, accident, occurrence, event, happening," from Latin adventura (res) "(a thing) about to happen," from fem. of adventurus, future participle of advenire "to come to,
    category
    1580s, in Aristotle's logic, "a highest notion," from French catégorie, from Late Latin categoria, from Greek katēgoria "accusation, prediction, category," verbal noun from katēgorein "speak against; to accuse, assert, predicate," from kata "down to" (or perhaps "against;" see ca
    Saturday
    seventh or last day of the week, Old English sæterdæg, sæternesdæg, literally "day of the planet Saturn," from Sæternes (genitive of Sætern; see Saturn) + Old English dæg (see day). Partial loan-translation of Latin Saturni dies "Saturn's day" (compare Dutch Zaterdag, Old Frisian
    hatch
    early 13c., hachen, "to produce young from eggs by incubation," probably from an unrecorded Old English *hæccan, of unknown origin, related to Middle High German, German hecken "to mate" (used of birds). Meaning "to come forth from an egg," also "cause to come forth from an egg"
    strange
    c. 1300, straunge, "from elsewhere, foreign, of another country; unknown, unfamiliar, not belonging to the place where found," also of a country, "unfamiliar, unknown, remote," from Old French estrange "foreign, alien, unusual, unfamiliar, curious; distant; inhospitable; estrange

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