User:Sizzle Flambé/Hecat2

Name, etymology, spelling, and pronunciation[edit]

The most common, and most widely accepted, proposed etymology for the name Hecate derives it from the Greek Ἑκάτη [Hekátē], "the feminine equivalent of Hekatos, an obscure epithet of Apollo."^[1] This has been variously translated as "far shooting", "far darter" or "her that operates from afar". An alternative interpretation derives it (at least in the case of Hesiod's use) from the Greek word for will, which leads one researcher to identify "the name and function of Hecate as the one by whose will prayers are accomplished and fulfilled."^[2] This interpretation also appears in Liddell-Scott, A Greek English Lexicon, in the entry for Hecate, which is glossed as "lit. she who works her will".

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In current standard English usage, Hecate (the Latin spelling) or Hekate (as transliterated from Greek) is most often pronounced /'hɛkə‑tiː/, though sometimes /'hɛk‑ət/.^[3]

Arthur Golding's 1567 translation of Ovid's Metamorphoses refers to "triple Hecat" (/'hɛk‑ət/),^[4] and this spelling without the final E later appears in plays of the Elizabethan-Jacobean period.^[5] Noah Webster in 1866 particularly credits the influence of Shakespeare for the then-predominant pronunciation of "Hecate" without the final E.^[6]

Some neopagan worshippers of the goddess pronounce the name as /'hɛkə‑teɪ/, /hɛk'ɑ‑teɪ/, or /'hɛk‑ət/,^[7] the last sometimes spelled Hekat.^[8]

^ Hornblower, Spawforth (Eds.) The Oxford Classical Dictionary, 1996, p. 671.
^ Jenny Strauss Clay, Hesiod's Cosmos, Cambridge University Press, 2003, p. 135. Clay lists a number of researchers who have advanced some variant of the association between Hecate's name and will (e.g. Walcot (1958), Neitzel (1975), Derossi (1975)).
^ "Pronunciation: \ˈhe-kə‑tē, ˈhe‑kət\" — "Hecate" in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, 2009.
"hĕk'ǝ‑tē, hĕk'ĭt" — "Hecate" in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, 2000.
"hek′ə tē, hek′it" - "Hecate" in Webster's New World College Dictionary (Wiley, 2005).
Merriam-Webster recordings with and without sounding the final E.
^ Golding, Arthur (trans.) (1567). Ovid's Metamorphoses, Book Seven.
^ Marlowe, Christopher (first published 1604; performed earlier). Doctor Faustus, Act III, Scene 2, line 21: "Pluto's blue fire and Hecat's tree".
Shakespeare, William (ca.1594-96). A Midsummer Night's Dream, Act V, Scene 1, line 384: "By the triple Hecat's team".
Shakespeare, William (ca.1603-07). Macbeth, Act III, Scene 5, line 1: "Why, how now, Hecat!"
Milton, John (1634). Comus, Act I, Scene 1, line 135: "Wherein thou ridest with Hecat".
Jonson, Ben (ca. 1637, printed 1641). The Sad Shepherd, Act II, Scene 3, line 668: "our dame Hecat".
^ Webster, Noah (1866). A Dictionary of the English Language (10th edition), "Rules for pronouncing the vowels of Greek and Latin proper names", p.9: "Hecate..., pronounced in three syllables when in Latin, and in the same number in the Greek word Ἑκάτη, in English is universally contracted into two, by sinking the final e. Shakespeare seems to have begun, as he has now confirmed, this pronunciation, by so adapting the word in Macbeth.... And the play-going world, who form no small portion of what is called the better sort of people, have followed the actors in this word; and the rest of the world have followed them."
^ Moura, Ann (1999). Green Witchcraft II: Balancing Light & Shadow. Llewellyn. p.224: "Hec'-a-tay". ISBN 1567186890, 9781567186895.
Roderick, Timothy (2005). Wicca, a Year and a Day. Llewellyn. p.207: "Pronounced Heh-KAH-tay". ISBN 0738706213, 9780738706214.
O'Gaea, Ashleen (2004). Celebrating the Seasons of Life: Samhain to Ostara : Lore, Rituals. Career Press. p.29: "The pronunciation of her name varies. Some say Heh-kah-tay, some say Heck-a-tay, and a very few say Heck-ate. Most of the Wiccans I know say Heck-a-tay." ISBN 1564147312, 9781564147318.
^ Wilshire, Donna (1993). Virgin, Mother, Crone: Myths & Mysteries of the Triple Goddess. Inner Traditions / Bear & Company. p.165: "the temple of Hekat". ISBN 0892814942, 9780892814947.
K, Amber; K, Azrael Arynn (2006). Ritualcraft: Creating Rites for Transformation and Celebration. Llewellyn. p.502: "Hekas, Hekat, Hekate!" ISBN 1567180094, 9781567180091.

[1] Hornblower, Spawforth (Eds.) The Oxford Classical Dictionary, 1996, p. 671.

[2] Jenny Strauss Clay, Hesiod's Cosmos, Cambridge University Press, 2003, p. 135. Clay lists a number of researchers who have advanced some variant of the association between Hecate's name and will (e.g. Walcot (1958), Neitzel (1975), Derossi (1975)).

[3] "Pronunciation: \ˈhe-kə‑tē, ˈhe‑kət\" — "Hecate" in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, 2009.
"hĕk'ǝ‑tē, hĕk'ĭt" — "Hecate" in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, 2000.
"hek′ə tē, hek′it" - "Hecate" in Webster's New World College Dictionary (Wiley, 2005).
Merriam-Webster recordings with and without sounding the final E.

[4] Golding, Arthur (trans.) (1567). Ovid's Metamorphoses, Book Seven.

[5] Marlowe, Christopher (first published 1604; performed earlier). Doctor Faustus, Act III, Scene 2, line 21: "Pluto's blue fire and Hecat's tree".
Shakespeare, William (ca.1594-96). A Midsummer Night's Dream, Act V, Scene 1, line 384: "By the triple Hecat's team".
Shakespeare, William (ca.1603-07). Macbeth, Act III, Scene 5, line 1: "Why, how now, Hecat!"
Milton, John (1634). Comus, Act I, Scene 1, line 135: "Wherein thou ridest with Hecat".
Jonson, Ben (ca. 1637, printed 1641). The Sad Shepherd, Act II, Scene 3, line 668: "our dame Hecat".

[6] Webster, Noah (1866). A Dictionary of the English Language (10th edition), "Rules for pronouncing the vowels of Greek and Latin proper names", p.9: "Hecate..., pronounced in three syllables when in Latin, and in the same number in the Greek word Ἑκάτη, in English is universally contracted into two, by sinking the final e. Shakespeare seems to have begun, as he has now confirmed, this pronunciation, by so adapting the word in Macbeth.... And the play-going world, who form no small portion of what is called the better sort of people, have followed the actors in this word; and the rest of the world have followed them."

[7] Moura, Ann (1999). Green Witchcraft II: Balancing Light & Shadow. Llewellyn. p.224: "Hec'-a-tay". ISBN 1567186890, 9781567186895.
Roderick, Timothy (2005). Wicca, a Year and a Day. Llewellyn. p.207: "Pronounced Heh-KAH-tay". ISBN 0738706213, 9780738706214.
O'Gaea, Ashleen (2004). Celebrating the Seasons of Life: Samhain to Ostara : Lore, Rituals. Career Press. p.29: "The pronunciation of her name varies. Some say Heh-kah-tay, some say Heck-a-tay, and a very few say Heck-ate. Most of the Wiccans I know say Heck-a-tay." ISBN 1564147312, 9781564147318.

[8] Wilshire, Donna (1993). Virgin, Mother, Crone: Myths & Mysteries of the Triple Goddess. Inner Traditions / Bear & Company. p.165: "the temple of Hekat". ISBN 0892814942, 9780892814947.
K, Amber; K, Azrael Arynn (2006). Ritualcraft: Creating Rites for Transformation and Celebration. Llewellyn. p.502: "Hekas, Hekat, Hekate!" ISBN 1567180094, 9781567180091.

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