Who we are
July 21st, 2005 by herichon
What does ‘herichon’ mean?
- <b>ur · chin </b> (ûr'chĭn)
- (Science: zoology) A hedgehog.
- (Science: zoology) A sea urchin. See Sea urchin.
- A mischievous elf supposed sometimes to take the form a hedgehog. “We ‘ll dress [them] like urchins, ouphes, and fairies.” Shakespeare
- A pert or roguish child; now commonly used only of a boy. “And the urchins that stand with their thievish eyes Forever on watch ran off each with a prize.” W. Howitt “You did indeed dissemble, you urchin you; but where’s the girl that won’t dissemble for an husband?” Goldsmith
Origin: OE. Urchon, irchon, a hedgehog, OF. Irecon, ericon, herion, herichon, F. Herisson, a derivative fr. L. Ericius, from er a hedgehog, for her; akin to Gr. Cf. Herisson.
What does ‘amphichon’ mean?
- amphi- (pref.)
- Both: amphibiotic.
- On both sides: amphistylar.
- Around: amphithecium.
[Latin, from Greek, from amphi, on both sides, around.]
- chon (chōn)
- A unit of currency in North Korea and South Korea. [Korean, literally “heaven”]
- A nickname for the group of elements consisting of Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen, and Nitrogen, believed to be the most fundamental ingredients for organic life. Comets may have delivered the CHON elements to Earth very early in its history.
- (suffix) Having to do with Herichon.
Okay, so, what does any of this have to do with you?
Right, I could be a little clearer, sorry.
Herichon (pronounced, I am told, as ‘ah – ree – sohn’, much like “Harrison”, except accent on the last syllable) does basically mean ‘urchin’, and it applies to me in two significant ways:
- a raggedly dressed, often mischevious child who lives in the city and who tends to cause trouble
- a mammal whose prickly exterior serves as a convenient defense
...and of course the fact that the root happens to include my given name is sort of an added bonus. (The “child” part is, of course, a manner of speaking at this point.) Then there’s the CHON thing, with which students of organic chemistry (and readers of Fred Pohl’s Heechee books) might be familiar. I sometimes break up my nickname as Heri (or Harry) Chon, and since CHON could be said to represent pretty much any organic life at all, I like to think of it as a really obscure and geeky way of saying “John Doe.”
As far as amphichon goes, the definition given above for the prefix is certainly valid. One could think of it as meaning “around Herichon”, or “both sides of Herichon”, or something like that. I chose it mainly though as homage to the darkly brilliant artist and writer Edward Gorey. Much of Gorey’s short work was collected in three omnibus volumes called Amphigorey, Amphigorey Too, and Amphigorey Also. If you watch PBS, you may have been introduced to Gorey’s work from the same source I was, the foreboding animated introduction to Mystery!. From the first time I saw that, in 1980 or so, I was hooked. So, though I can’t compare to Gorey in any sense, ‘amphichon’ is my tip of the hat to the master.
Sigh. Yes, I am enough of a word geek to have given herichon and amphichon this much thought. For what it’s worth, it was sort of a big burst of thought, years ago, and I haven’t thought much about them since. Does that help?
No? Okay, never mind.
Who are you, really?
Well, my first name is pretty obvious, if you’ve been paying any attention. However for a number of reasons I prefer to remain at least marginally anonymous online. (Again, if you stick around here at all, some of those reasons will probably become quite apparent, since I rant periodically about privacy and general civil rights issues.) To those of you who know me in real life, please do me a favor and avoid posting personally identifying information.
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