Senator Clinton's Nomination is C-H-I-M-E-R-I-C-A-L

Thatcher — Sun, 13 Apr 2008 13:42:34 EDT

(cross-posted on The Dead Guy)

Main Entry: chi•me•ri•cal
Pronunciation: k?-?mer-i-k?l, k?-, -?mir-
Variant(s): also chi•me•ric -ik
Function: adjective
Etymology: chimera
Date: 1638
1 : existing only as the product of unchecked imagination : fantastically visionary or improbable
2 : given to fantastic schemes

Thanks to a friend, I was able to attend tonight's musical at the Des Moines Civic Center - "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee" (Spelling Bee). It was a fun night, but as I drove home, a bell went off in my head (and no, Spellers, it wasn't Vice-Principal Panch), I recognized that Senator Clinton and her campaign for the Democratic Presidential Nomination can be encapsulated using many of the lyrics from the musical.

Barack Hussein Obama (What's in a name?)

Adoyo — Mon, 13 Aug 2007 13:19:00 EDT

For those who wonder about the real significance of Senator Barack Obama's name:

Barack:

baraka: blessing (Kiswahili)
baraka: also berakhah , in Judaism, a blessing usually recited during a ceremony
baruch: Also related to "berakhah" or bracha (Hebrew: berakhot), which is a blessing.
baraka: also barakah, in Islam and Arab-influenced languages, meaning spiritual wisdom and blessing transmitted from God
"Baraka", a rarely used French slang term for luck, derived from the Arabic word
Baraka, aka Nigella sativa , a spice with purported health benefits

Hussein:

an Arabic name which is the diminutive of Hasan, meaning "beautiful" or "handsome".

Obama:

a Luo name (male) from Western Kenya (Nyanza Provice) which may derive from "obam," which conotes "bending" or "leaning".
also a surname in Japan and Equatorial Guinea

All told, Senator Obama seems to be a living embodiment of the name his parents gave him: he has lived a blessed life and seeks to share his blessing; he is beautiful to behold and to listen to - people are drawn to him and inspired when they hear him speak and consider his ideas; and in public life he is flexible and dedicated to leaning where necessary to help uplift others.

I examined my own name and found that it accurately indicates some of my innate tendancies. Curiously enough, both my Luo name and my English name mean the same thing: thoroughness, purification and wonder/curiosity (among other things...) - who'd have thunk? How about you? Do you embody your name's meaning?

Sources: Wikipedia (baraka, baruch, hussein, obama)

Other sources: My mother; multicultural childhood & education including Luo and Kiswahili.

Posts with the tag etymology

Senator Clinton's Nomination is C-H-I-M-E-R-I-C-A-L

Barack Hussein Obama (What's in a name?)