365Caws is now in its 14th year of publication, and was originally intended to end after 365 days. It has sometimes been difficult for me to find new material, particularly during the winter months, but now as I enter my own twilight years, I cannot guarantee that I will be able to provide daily posts. It is my hope that along the way I may have inspired someone to a greater curiosity about the natural world. If so, I can rest, content in the knowledge that my work here has been done.
Saturday, November 18, 2023
Conk
Day 36: As a collector of words, I'm not sure how "conk" eluded me until I was well past fifty, at least insofar as it refers to a bracket/shelf fungus. "A conk on the head" was part of my lexicon, as was the game of "conkers," but both imply a certain degree of injury to one's person. How it could apply to a fungus was beyond me, so I consulted Webster's Third New International, the three-volume reference which holds my desk to the floor. Webster, bless his little heart, suggests that "conk" was probably derived from "conch" (the shell), although he expresses some doubt about the validity of that etymology. It makes sense, certainly, but not all derivations are as simple as they appear on the surface. That said, I have never been conked by a conk, nor have I seen a conk employed in conkers. Even so, the word has conquered my vocabulary in such a fashion that I never pass one without mentally saying, "Conk!" "Bracket" just doesn't have the same ring.
Labels:
bracket fungus,
conk,
etymology,
T Woods
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