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Thigh Thumb Thick
Mus Muscle Muslo Masculine
Gamba Gamble
Femur Feminine Family Pheme Phoneme Telephone
Meanings in unpretentious words like HIP and THIGH are often difficult to convey
succinctly. Even setting aside the HYPE
inherent in HIPSTER and HIPPIE and consideration
of those who seek to be HIP or noted, does not
help. The chosen solution is to divide the
subject into three parts.
As a start, an invocation to Janus, the symbol of
"all beginnings" may be a way to heed the counsel
of Ovid that "everything depends on the beginning".
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| Curves (Rottenhammer) |
First we focus on feminine CURVATIOUS HIPs and THIGHs and
their impact on masculine psyches. Other overviews explore
HIP and THIGH as a locomotor unit while another
overview is focused on CURVE and seeks to inCLINE readers
to notice links with CLINICAL matters.
It is self-evident that CURVACEOUS HIPS and THIGHS are
an attribute of FEMININITY. This view is in
harmony with a definition attributed to Mr. N.
Webster who stated -
"CURVE or CURVAceous" can be defined as
"A well proportioned Feminine Figure".
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| "Feminine" defines "Curvatious". (Goya) |
In Italian and Latin, the thigh is GAMBa and
FEMUR and both are given as feminine and also point to GAMBit as in GAMBle. Perhaps
this should remind GAMBlers seeking fortune that
not only CURVAceous FEMORA are dangerous but that
to GAMBLE with FORTUNE may result in misFURTUNE.
From Italy we also get VIOLa di GAMBA, a musical
instrument held between both thighs.
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Curves induce resonance. (Ingres; String Instruments) |
The story about the affair of Zeus and Danae
reminds how tempting thighs can unleash FORTUNAte
or unFORTUNATE events. Apparently, Zeus induced
Danae to spread her thighs to receive him materialized as a shower of
gold. The great Apuleius coined the word
INTERFEMINIUM to refer to the virtual space between
FEMINine thighs or FEMORA as a way to avoid the
use of more graphic anatomical names. To complete this
story, some say that unFORTUNAte Danae was raped or
VIOLated but others say she was FORTUNAte. In any
case, the imPREGNABle Danae was imPREGNated by
Jove and her PREGNancy produced PERSEUS, so named
to remind posterity of his GENesis by "per Zeus" and that to this day
his father's and mother's GENes persist in PERSIA.
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Impregnable Danae was Impregnated by Gold. (Mabuse; Titian; Studio of Titian; Titian) |
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Thighs can inflame desires. (Studio of Rubeus; Greuze) |
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| Modern versions of Danae are rather Mundane. (Slevogt) |
The Roman vocabulary added unique nuances to THIGH
or the FEMORAL region. The outer thigh was called
FEMAR and the inner area was known as FEMEN, as if to
stress its more intimate character. To this day
most modern men seem to pay attention to FEMAles
with CURVAcious hips, thighs and particularly
to those with long FEMURS. One quest of FEMINISM is
to educate a FEMINA or FEMELLA (girls and young
women in Latin) how to best avoid becoming
enslaved or a FAMULA in a male dominated society.
It is strange that many feminists are ambivalent to the fact that many women exploit their FEMINinity,
FEMEN and interFEMINIUM with the aim to engender a loving
FAMILY and gain the status of FEMINA, thus avoiding the fate of a FAMULA. Perhaps feminists should
also take
notice that, although ancient Greeks also admired a
curvaceous FEMURA and alluring FEMAR and FEMEN,
they had a far greater admiration for PHEMI or the
CHARming FEMinine ability "to speak" softly and
graciously with an emphasis on poetry. Such is also the essence of the
appreciation for Geishas. History shows how FEMAles
of modest beauty but possessing PHEMI achieved
immense power. Sapho, Cleopatra, Roxalana, Mata
Hari, Lola Montez were not particularly beautiful
but their PHEMI was phenomenal. It is probably true
that no woman achieved the status of "FEMME fatal"
without the possession of a remarkable PHEMI. AngloPHONE FEMINists forget
that PHEMI PHONEtics or mindless chatter as well as
a fondness for telePHONE abuse is anti-FEMinine. PHEMI is the source of
CHAR, the power source of a CHARIVNA, Ukrainian
words for CHARM and CHARacter of enCHANtresses,
including those who evolve into bewitching
witches.
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Modern females can benefit from knowing better about the
ideas in
FAMULA, FEMINA and PHEMI. (Chasserian; Bellini). |
The opposite of PHEMI is LACONIC, an idea traced
to Spartan culture centered in LACONia. It was
proposed then, that boys should be LACONic or
succinct in words. Sadly, parents who sustain such
views condition their boys to become LACONIC
boring men who are bound to be accused of being
curt.
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| Hips and Thighs sustain Muscular Motion. (attributed
to the Eupiletos Painter) |
In Spanish THIGH or MUSLO is a MASCuline word.
In any case, THIGH or MUSlo is quite MUScular as denoted by MESKSH,
MUCZ, MYSH, MUS, MUSCULUS, MUSLO, MIASO, MASCULINE
from Sanskrit, Ukrainian, Latin and Spanish. These
words denote flesh, muscle, man, and mice as well as
FEMUR or thigh. MYSH and MUS in Ukrainian and Latin
mean MOUSE, a fact that underscores how ancient poets were
amused by how contracting muscle bundles reminded observers of a mouse moving under the carpet
of skin.
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| Andromeda had feminine curves and Perseus had masculine muscles.
(Troschel) |
MASculine MUS or MICe are MUScular. (Flegel) |
A muscular
THIGH is indeed THICK as is the thickest of fingers or THUMB. In the
interest of brevity, the series THICK, THUMB,
THIGH as in SWOLLEN, ENGORGED, TURGOR, TUMOR,
TUBER, TUBERCULOSIS, enTOMBed or in Spanish TUMBA
or in Greek TUMBOS for "swollen ground" of a fresh
TOMB, are explored separately.
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FEMinine FEMurs may not be as MUScular as MASculine GAMBas but do appeal
to MASculine men. (Reni; Titian) |
Consideration must also be given to the emotional impact of HIP and THIGH
motions. Hip GYRAtions
induced by walking, running, dancing or otherwise,
give rise to a vast repertoire dealing with dance
and sexuality - for example, dancers of the
Argentine TANGo are expected to demonstrate GYRAting hips
and thighs. Another TANGent that also emerged in Buenos Aires
are women who GYRAte their hips in public and become branded as GIRA for harlot. A similar
idea also emerged in Ukraine where AMBULATING women
with a swaying CURVAtious hips may be may branded
as CURVA or whore. In Italy, women with an
enticing stride are less likely to be insulted and
instead attract gallant comments but nonetheless may be called GAMBERRA, to stress
that they flaunt their GAMBA or THIGH perhaps with
prostitution in mind.
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To TANGo calls for GIRAting hips and GAMBAS
or thighs - one TANGential way to promote pairing. (Pene du Bois; Hopper) |
A more JOCULAR panorama emerges when those who
are obese JIGgle their ample hips, thighs, buttocks
or GLUTeal regions as when they JOG, JUMp or dance
a JIG. Perhaps JIGGling fatty GLUTeal regions may
discourage GLUTtony and diets with a GLUT of GLUten
and GLUcose.
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| In some cultures steato pygia (fat-butt) is a sign of Callipygia
(beautiful butt). (Ancient Statuettes) |
Finally, curve and curvaceous or KAMPE or KAMPA in
Indo-European, point to KNEE or KOLINO in Ukrainian
as well as to inCLINE, deCLINE and CLINIC which are
matters exposed in a companion overview.
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Knees have a "cap" or patella, a sessamoid bone shaped like a sessame seed. (Haarlem; anonymous). |
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