MooT Question Icon
What Odyssean sea nymph's name means "hidden" in Greek?



Etymology, Etymology, and more Etymology
as well as grammar, usage, euphemism, slang, jargon, semantics (meaning), linguistics, neologism, idiom, word origin, syntax, dialect, lexicon (vocabulary), diction, pidgin, synonym, antonym, homonym, cant, argot, lingo, and redundancy.

A picture of a moot game

The critically-acclaimed board game MooT consists of tough questions about the nuances of the English language.
To join our mailing list and get free brain-twisting MooT questions sent to you irregularly, enter your email address and then press submit.

E-Mail address:



Back to home page


Answer: Calypso

Calypso was the sea nymph in Homer's Odyssey who loved and detained Odysseus for seven years, and died of grief when she was forced to free him. Her name - which derives from the Greek kalyptein, to cover or conceal - literally means "hidden" or "I will conceal" in Greek.

Similarly, an apocalypse is an "uncovering" (from Greek apo, off, and kalyptein). And, as that which is uncovered is revealed, the Apocalypse of John of Patmos was renamed the Book of Revelation when Wycliff translated it into English in the 14th Century.


Please note that these are draft questions for the board game MooT.
If you spot an error or disagree with anything I've said here,
please let me know and I'll fix it.
(the Mootguy)

Copyright 1998-2008 Blair Arts Ltd. All rights reserved.