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word of the day

The word for today is…

caduceus (noun) – 1. (a) A herald’s wand or staff, especially in ancient times.
(b) Greek Mythology A winged staff with two serpents twined around it, carried by Hermes.
2. An insignia modeled on Hermes’s staff and used as the symbol of the medical profession.

Source : The Free Dictionary

Etymology : The Greek god Hermes, who served as herald and messenger to the other gods, carried a winged staff entwined with two snakes. The staff of Aesculapius, the god of healing, had one snake and no wings. The word caduceus, from Latin, is a modification of Greek karykeion, from karyx, meaning “herald.” Strictly speaking, caduceus should refer only to the staff of the herald-god Hermes (Mercury to the Romans), but in practice the word is often applied to the one-snake staff as well. You might logically expect the staff of Aesculapius to be the symbol of the medical profession—and indeed, that is the symbol used by the American Medical Association. But you will also quite frequently see the true caduceus used as a medical symbol.

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