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Re: OPLOSAURUS
--- "Jaime A. Headden" <qilongia@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Had fun with this word once, a long time ago.
> "Oplo"
> come from the greek "hoplon", or shield, and was
> applied to the small wrist shield used by
> spear-bearers (similarly called "Hoplites").
Not directly dinosaur-related, but nomenclature
related: Let me just clarify that the _hoplon_ was an
enormous shield, not at all a small shield.
(The common small shield carried by Classical Greek
_psiloi_ (light infantry) or _peltastoi_ (a sort of
jack-of-all-trades soldier who could both fight and
skirmish) was called a _pelta_.)
It's (marginally) relevant here because the hoplites
considered the _hoplon_ to be their primary
protection, eventually abandoning most of the
traditional bronze body armor for a simple linen
corselet, then abandoning all body armor (some even
fought nude). This, because the big round _hoplon_
was such ample protection all by itself. Hence the
word for "shield" came to be used as a generic
reference for the protection of a soldier.
Thus "armored" dinosaurs sometimes use the word for
the big protective heavy infantry shield, the
_hoplon_ ...
Senatus Populusque Romanus,
=====
Larry
"Atheism: a non-prophet organization."
http://members.tripod.com/~megalania/index.html
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