Word of the Day!

hy·men [ˈhaɪmɛn]:
origin: [1610] French (via medical Latin); syu-men= to sew or bind.

noun (hymenal, adjective)
1. Originally the Greek God of marriage (also Hymenaios or Hymenaeus), mentioned in many Shakespearian plays, and imbued with several origins.

In one: Hymen was a beautiful youth in love with a nobel woman whom he couldn't marry. Instead, he followed her everywhere out of devotion, going so far as to disguise himself as a woman during a "female only" ceremony.

When that group of women, including himself (in drag), and his crush, were kidnapped, Hymen eventually rallied the women to overpower their captors and return to Athens to gain freedom. Hymen struck a bargain to marry one of the captured women as a form of gratitude and thus won the hand of his beloved! Despite their different backgrounds that would've forever separated them otherwise, the marriage became one of famous happiness among citizens Thus, festivals in his honor and the association with marriage. It is said that by calling his name at a ceremony, one "invites" Hymen to attend, in order to secure a prosperous union.

( the second definition has to do with female anatomy )


Hymen (left) and Cupid (right) with the flame of love.

lith·o·pe·di·on [lith′əpē′dē·ən]:
origin: (10th Century by Al-Zahrawi) Greek [λίθος παιδίον]; lithos= stone + paidion= child.

noun
"Stone Baby"

A very rare medical condition describing a fossilized infant found inside of a female patient.

This occurs when a child dies from ectopic pregnancy (pregnancy outside the womb), yet the fetus is too large to simply be reabsorbed by the body, and so a protective layer of calcium forms to separate the biological tissues and prevent infection to the mother; ostembryon; calcified fetus.

Eventually the entire corpse ossifies and may not be discovered until many years later. It's usually found during a full medical examination or from X-ray. This article describes a 92 year old woman "giving birth" to her 60 year old child, under just such circumstances.


Less than 300 cases have ever been recorded.