Myth & LegendGreek → English
Caduceus
/kəˈduːsiəs/noun
The winged staff entwined by two snakes carried by Hermes, now widely used as a medical emblem.
The Greek roots
κῆρυξ
kêrux
herald, crier
Literally: “herald's staff”
Follow a root:κῆρυξ1 word
The story of the word
Latin took the word from the Doric form καρύκειον, from κῆρυξ, the herald, whose staff guaranteed safe passage the way a white flag does. It is a symbol of messengers, trade and negotiation, and it belongs to the god of merchants and thieves. The medical use rests on a mix-up with the rod of Asclepius, which has one snake and no wings; the United States Army medical service adopted the wrong staff in 1902 and the error spread from there.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → Latin → English
- First recorded
- 16th century
In a sentence
The clinic's logo is a caduceus, which a classicist friend points out means it is advertising commerce.