From: m.driussi@genie.com
Subject: (whorl) Re:  Digest whorl.v007
Date: Thu, 14 Aug 97 22:25:00 GMT


[Posted from WHORL, the mailing list for Gene Wolfe's Book of the Long Sun]

Reply:  Item #8520349 from WHORL@LISTS.BEST.COM@INTERNET#

Kieran Mullen,

Re: Dorcas as gazelle.  Ah, so sorry--you must have thought I was
being wooly and mantic.  Nope.  Not to deny the saint Dorcas/Tabitha
at all, no sir.  Just that "Dorcas" =means= gazelle; this is not a
debatable point.  (Tabitha is Aramaic for gazelle, I believe.)

DICTIONARY OF NAMES:
"Dorcas" (Greek) A gazelle

LATIN DICTIONARY:
"dorcas" feminine gazelle, antelope

(hmm, so which is it: Greek or Latin?)

DICTIONARY OF WORD ROOTS AND COMBINING FORMS:
"dorca, -do, =s" (Greek) A gazelle

The encyclopedia entry under "gazelle" states that there is a dorcas
gazelle (G. dorcas), which isn't surprising.

I'd swear there's an interview with or article by Wolfe that says
"Dorcas means gazelle" but I can't find it at the moment, so maybe
I'm mistaken.

In any case, I'm surprised that I didn't mention this in the Lexicon
(where I did allude to the resurrected widow of Bible lore), or, having
failed that, that I neglected to mention it in either errata chapbook.
Well, that's how it goes, doesn't it?  On the bright side, there's always
the next chapbook!

=mantis=