Etymology
The name of the genus Gymnodenia is formed from Greek words "gymnos" meaning "nude" and "adèn" meaning "gland" and refers to the characteristics of the organs for secreting nectar. The specific Latin name "conopsea" derives from the Greek "konops", literally means "like mosquito", probably because of the similarity of the long spur of the flower with the mouthparts of that insect.
The scientific binomial name of this plant was initially Orchis conopsea, proposed by the Swedish naturalist and botanist Carl von Linné (1707 - 1778) in 1753. The name has been subsequently amended to the one currently accepted (Gymnadenia conopsea), by the British botanist Robert Brown (1773 - 1858) in 1813. In German this plant is called Mücken Handwurtz-or-Mücken Nacktdrüse; in French is called Gymnadenia Moucheron or Orchis Moucheron; in Italy is called Manina rosea (pink hand).
Read more about this topic: Fragrant Orchid
Famous quotes containing the word etymology:
“The universal principle of etymology in all languages: words are carried over from bodies and from the properties of bodies to express the things of the mind and spirit. The order of ideas must follow the order of things.”
—Giambattista Vico (1688–1744)
“Semantically, taste is rich and confusing, its etymology as odd and interesting as that of “style.” But while style—deriving from the stylus or pointed rod which Roman scribes used to make marks on wax tablets—suggests activity, taste is more passive.... Etymologically, the word we use derives from the Old French, meaning touch or feel, a sense that is preserved in the current Italian word for a keyboard, tastiera.”
—Stephen Bayley, British historian, art critic. “Taste: The Story of an Idea,” Taste: The Secret Meaning of Things, Random House (1991)