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Origin and history of Selene

Selene

a name of the moon goddess, equivalent to Latin Luna, from Greek selēnē "the moon; name of the moon goddess," related to selas "light, brightness, bright flame, flash of an eye." This is reconstructed to be from PIE root *swel- (2) "to shine, beam" (source also of Sanskrit svargah "heaven," Lithuanian svilti "to singe," Old English swelan "to be burnt up," Middle Low German swelan "to smolder") and to be related to swelter and sultry.

Daughter of Hyperion and Theia, sister of Helios. Related: Selenian "of or pertaining to the moon as a world and its supposed inhabitants," 1660s. Another early word for "moon-man, supposed inhabitant of the moon" is selenite (1640s); Greek had selēnitai "moon-dwellers, the men in the moon" (Lucian).

Entries linking to Selene

sultry(adj.)

1590s, of weather, air, etc., "oppressively hot, close and moist;" it is ultimately swelter + -y (2), either as a contraction of sweltry or from the obsolete verb sulter "to swelter" (1580s), itself an alteration of swelter.

The figurative sense of "hot with lust" is attested from 1704, and it is attested by 1887 as "smutty;" in reference to women, "lascivious, sensual, arousing desire" it is recorded by 1940. Related: Sultriness.

swelter(v.)

mid-14c., swelteren, "faint or grow weak with heat, be ready to die with heat," frequentative of swelten "be faint" (especially with heat), from Old English sweltan "to die, perish," from Proto-Germanic *swiltan- (source also of Old Saxon sweltan "to die," Old Norse svelta "to put to death, starve," Gothic sviltan "to die").

This is perhaps originally "to burn slowly," hence "to be overcome with heat or fever," from PIE root *swel- (2) "to shine, beam" (see Selene). From the same ancient root comes Old English swelan "to burn." For specialization of words meaning "to die," compare starve.

Figuratively, of the heat of emotion or desire, by 1580s. Related: Sweltered; sweltering.

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selenographer
"student of the moon, one who occupies himself with study of the physiography of the moon," 1660s, from selenography "scientific study of the moon" (1640s), originally to map the landforms of it, from seleno-, combining form of Selene "moon" + -graphy. Selenograph "photograph of
luna
"the moon," especially as personified in a Roman goddess answering to Greek Selene; also an alchemical name for "silver;"...
trivia
Romans also had trivius dea, the "goddess of three ways," another name for Hecate, perhaps originally in her triple aspect (Selene...
industry
late 15c., "cleverness, skill," from Old French industrie "activity; aptitude, experience" (14c.) or directly from Latin industria "diligence, activity, zeal," noun use of fem. of industrius "active, diligent," from early Latin indostruus "diligent," from indu "in, within" (from
Kyrie eleison
early 13c., a Greek liturgical formula adopted untranslated into the Latin mass, literally "lord have mercy" (Psalms cxxii.3, Matthew xv.22, xvii.15, etc.). From kyrie, vocative of kyrios "lord, master" (see church (n.)) + eleeson, aorist imperative of eleo "I have pity on, show
boycott
1880, noun and verb, "to combine in refusing to have dealings with, and preventing or discouraging others from doing so, as punishment for political or other differences." From Irish Land League ostracism of Capt. Charles C. Boycott (1832-1897), land agent of Lough-Mask in County
perfunctory
"done mechanically or without interest or zeal and merely for the sake of being rid of the duty of doing it; done so as to conform to the letter but not the spirit," 1580s, from Late Latin perfunctorius "careless, negligent," literally "like one who wishes to get through a thing,
hoedown
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insinuate
1520s, "to covertly and subtly introduce into the mind or heart" (trans.), from Latin insinuatus, past participle of insinuare "to thrust in, push in, make a way; creep in, intrude, bring in by windings and curvings, wind one's way into," from in- "in" (from PIE root *en "in") +
bluff
1839, "to deceive (opponents), especially by betting heavily and with a confident air on a worthless hand to make them 'fold,'" an American English poker term, perhaps from Dutch bluffen "to brag, boast," or verbluffen "to baffle, mislead." The general sense "use a show of confid

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