Calx

Today I visited the Surgeon’s Hall Museum in Edinburgh.  As you might imagine, it contains a wealth of gruesome exhibits, from shrunken heads collected from Peruvian tribes, to gleaming implements of rudimentary (and anaesthetic-free) surgery and glass vessels containing the pickled parts of past patients.

Having been drawn to a case with some tong-like contraptions, I was interested and discomforted to read that they were for extraction of “stones” from within organs, such as those that can form in the kidneys or gall bladder.  I find it a little difficult to imagine exactly how these operations would have proceeded; perhaps I don’t want to.   In the explanatory text, a stone of this kind was described as a “calculus”, so I began thinking about the etymology of the term.  I had yesterday been reading about the integral calculus, a set of mathematical tools used to calculate the area under a particular curve.  It turns out that “calculus” is a diminutive version of the latin word for limestone : “calx”.  The term “calculus” was therefore used by the Romans to describe pebbles used in counting, hence the English “calculation“.

This is a just one of many examples of links in our language that are not at all clear unless you peek at the origins of words.   It can also be seen that “calcium” comes from the same word.  So too do “chalk” (which contains a great deal of calcium), and “caulk“, which originally meant to fill gaps with lime mortar.  “Causeway” derives from the Roman roads paved with limestone.

Another (unrelated) latin definition of the word “calx” is “heel” or “hoof“.  From this, English gets words such as “recalcitrant” (i.e. giving the heel to, or kicking against), and also “inculcate“, from the idea of impressing an idea upon someone, or treading the idea in.

Of course it’s not necessary to know any of this to lead a happy and full life, but for me it provides one of the small and consistent pleasures of life, as well as a glimpse into the the way aspects of human society evolve.  I also think it can help us with better sense of the interconnectedness of different societies at a time when, in spite of globalised trade and “always on” internet connectivity, emphasis within political and social trends seems often to be given to jingoism and suspicion of those unlike us, who perhaps speak another language, or happen to live on a different section of the earth.

If you happen to be in Edinburgh, I would recommend a visit to the highly informative museum at Surgeon’s Hall.