>...another subject of the jowly, bulldog-faced ferrets, referred to as
>demigigas or demi gigas (should it be one word or two words and in either
>case, why?)
>
>If one will refer to a dictionary, the word "gigas" is defined as,
>
>   A polyploid PLANT having a thicker stem, taller growth, darker thicker
>   leaves, and larger flowers and seeds than a corresponding diploid.
>
>and, the word "demi," which is strictly a prefix...
>
>   one that partly belongs to a specified type or class, as DEMIgod.
>
>Thus one should conclude that the prefix "demi" cannot stand alone, since
>by definition it is a prefix; hence as it appears, we have, of necessity,
>the single word
>
>                         "demigigas."
 
actually demi is derived from the french demie, the word for half.  demi is
similar in meaning to "semi" and means more literally "half of".  a demigod
is not "some kind of a god" it is "almost a god" or "half a god".  that's
elementary, my dear Lipinski!
 
my dictionary defines it as:
   demi-: a word element appearing in loan words from the french meaning
  "half" (demilune- half moon), "lesser" (demitasse- the smaller spoon; a
   teaspoon), or sometimes used with a pejorative sense (demimonde): on
   this model, also prefixed to words of english origin (demigod- lesser
   god).
 
>Now I believe, as I've shown above, that this is an illiterate word with
>respect to describing a ferret.  Mr. Doug McKay (as per Zen) may be
>credited for originating this word, for what does it mean?  To you and to
>me could it mean simply a "some kind of a plant," as a demigod is "some
>kind of a god?"  Pray tell, what's it got to do with ferrets?
 
i think that gigas is actually referring to the gigantic state of the
plant, as in gigantism in humans.  making it larger and more heavy than is
normal to clarify : giga-: a learned borrowing from Greek, where it meant
"giant", used with the meaning "billion" in the formation of compound
words: gigameter
 
so Demi Gigas was either "half giant" or "half a billion".  since his line
is known for large size and heavy build it would be logical to assume that
he is "Half Giant".
 
since Demi Gigas is a proper name and not a word, it has been altered a
little.  it is made up of two prefixes, which would be gramatically
incorrect.
 
i actually wonder if perhaps his name was not simply Demi Giga, which
would be more clear, and the s has been added by people reffering to "Demi
Giga's" line??  i knew of a line in the breed of cats i bred which was
reffered to as "Anasons", from "Ana's sons"...
 
>What else could it mean?  I should like to encourage input.
>
>Does it not seem to you that we are being absurd and somewhat ignorant in
>using such terms that seem to be totally irrelevant in describing a
>somewhat murkily defined "kind" of ferret?
 
no, it refers to ferrets having in their background a specific ancestor.
that is clear enough!
 
>Which of you really knows whereof thou speakest, huh?
 
i think Zen did.  and that was grammatically incorrect anyways.
 
>I should hesitate to speak with the authority some have taken unto
>themselves in telling others what this ill-defined term means, much less
>as to how it should be spelled, conjucated and applied.  One may take into
>consideration that such erudition is based on the words, "erudire," to
>instruct and and "rudis," meaning rude and ignorant.
 
actually "rudis" also translates as rough and unformed, as well as rude,
but not as ignorant.  and according to my dictionary it is formed by
"rudise" and "eruditio"- an instruction.  not the verb, to instruct.
 
>And one last parting shot: Mr. Janke, I believe it was, expressed concern
>that ECE is being referred to as a virus, and which is yet, to my knowledge
>and to his, absolutely false.  Lately, a veterniarian, unidentified as yet,
>referred to it as a "corona" or a "crown-like virus, which he has isolated
>and identified.  Absolutely amazing indeed, in spite of the fact that it's
>not yet proven to be a virus, does this vet now blatantly ascribe a
>physical shape, a "crown" shape, to the virus particle itself?
 
i think that the vets have now found one of the viruses responsible for ECE
(literally "epizootic catarrhal entiritis", which although i did not spell
it right is simply a description of a set of characteristics.) other people
mention tests for it, and you cannot test for a set of characteristics any
better than we already knew.
 
siani
[Posted in FML issue 2652]