Etymology of littlemeg
Little Meg was one of my dad's nicknames for me. Still is, actually. Some things you never outgrow =). For a period (sometime around middle school) I chafed at it. I was no longer a little kid. "Big Meg!" I emphatically corrected him whenever he called me little Meg. He never really made the switch, and I eventually stopped minding. Much later, I even began to identify much more closely with "little Meg": The beginning of grad school is a very overwhelming, humbling time for most students, and that was when I started this blog. "Little Meg" thus seemed a natural name for it.
As it turns out, Little Meg is also a ring of stones in Northern England. (Think Stone Henge, but little :D). I don't know what the source of its name is, but it might be because it neighbors Long Meg, a much larger formation. Legend has it that Long Meg was a witch before being turned into a rock. (Petrification being an accepted occupational hazard of witches, no doubt.)
I wonder if my parents knew about these stoney and witchy Megs. I'm pretty sure that I was not named after a witch (or a rock). The official story is that I was named after my maternal grandmother. And I believe I got the nickname Meg because of the novel Little Women (hey, there's another connection to littleness). Though I don't think I would mind, even if I had been named after a petrified witch. Although I lack magical powers (and if any of you claim to be bewitched by me I will scoff loudly), I've liked witches since before Harry Potter's time, even. For instance, I gleefully read the role of Witch #1 when we studied Macbeth in 10th grade. My favorite quote from this play has nothing to do with phantom daggers or damn spots, but instead is
I've always loved the name Meg, always loved being a Meg. Meg- means great, and Meg (as a name) is great! As far as I'm concerned, being a stone ring and petrified witch makes it even greater!
(Many thanks to the internet for teaching me about Little Meg!)
As it turns out, Little Meg is also a ring of stones in Northern England. (Think Stone Henge, but little :D). I don't know what the source of its name is, but it might be because it neighbors Long Meg, a much larger formation. Legend has it that Long Meg was a witch before being turned into a rock. (Petrification being an accepted occupational hazard of witches, no doubt.)
I wonder if my parents knew about these stoney and witchy Megs. I'm pretty sure that I was not named after a witch (or a rock). The official story is that I was named after my maternal grandmother. And I believe I got the nickname Meg because of the novel Little Women (hey, there's another connection to littleness). Though I don't think I would mind, even if I had been named after a petrified witch. Although I lack magical powers (and if any of you claim to be bewitched by me I will scoff loudly), I've liked witches since before Harry Potter's time, even. For instance, I gleefully read the role of Witch #1 when we studied Macbeth in 10th grade. My favorite quote from this play has nothing to do with phantom daggers or damn spots, but instead is
By the pricking of my thumbs,Imagine me delivering that in a crone's creaky cackle. Maybe, though unnamed by the Bard, Witch #1 was a Meg?
Something wicked this way comes.
I've always loved the name Meg, always loved being a Meg. Meg- means great, and Meg (as a name) is great! As far as I'm concerned, being a stone ring and petrified witch makes it even greater!
(Many thanks to the internet for teaching me about Little Meg!)
posted by Meg at
11:01 PM
2 Comments:
And now a Meg is a unit of memory. We could create another unit, a "Little Meg" (LM), which would be half as much memory as a full Meg.
By
Anonymous, at January 29, 2006 11:32 PM
I thought that Margaret was derived from the Latin Margarita (pearl)...which makes sense, since you're small, round, shiny, and precious to all of us in NYC...
By
Anonymous, at January 30, 2006 9:13 AM
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