Plants & CreaturesGreek → English
Eucalyptus
/ˌjuːkəˈlɪptəs/noun
An Australian evergreen tree with aromatic oily leaves, grown worldwide for timber and oil.
The Greek roots
εὖ
eû
well, good
καλυπτός
kalyptós
covered, hidden
Literally: “well covered”
The story of the word
Charles Louis L'Héritier named the genus in 1788 from a specimen brought back on Cook's third voyage, and the name points at one small feature: the flower bud wears a cap, an operculum, that pops off as the flower opens. The same verb καλύπτω conceals Calypso, the nymph who kept Odysseus hidden for seven years. It also turns up inverted in apocalypse, an uncovering.
- How it travelled
- Ancient Greek → scientific coinage → English
Same family
apocalypseeulogyeuphoriaeucalyptol
In a sentence
The whole hillside smelled of eucalyptus after the rain.
Koalas eat little else.