redshirt

Pronounced: nope, not giving such obvious pronunciation, noun/verb

Notes: I enjoy watching football, and I’ve heard this term, but didn’t know precisely what it meant (and it has a definition of which I was unware)

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Yesterday’s word

The word orphic means

• of or relating to Orpheus or the rites and doctrines ascribed to him (capitalized for this meaning)
• mystic; oracular
• fascinating; entrancing

First usage

Our word came into English in the late mid-1600s [N.B.: not a typo; I mean the ending part of the “mid” range, which I defined as XX25-XX75 – if you don’t know N.B. (or NB), look up “nota bene”]

Background / Comments

Our word came from Greek mythology; Orpheus was a man with the best musical ability, bar none. When he played his lyre, even rocks and trees would be affected. On his wedding day, his beloved bride-to-be (Eurydice) was bitten by a snake and died. Orpheus was heartbroken, and traveled to the underworld to plead for her release. His music touched even the cold heart of Hades himself, who agreed to release her, but Orpheus had to lead; Eurydice would follow, but he could not look back until they were out of the underworld. When Orpheus escaped the underworld, he looked back in joy, but she was not out yet, and was thus lost to him forever. After Orpheus’s death, an “oracle of Orpheus” was created that rivaled the oracle of Delphi. Thus, we see all three meanings; the first relating to Orpheus himself; the second from his oracle; and the third from his music-making skill.