Sunday Rest: sodality. Word Not To Use Today.

Some things are truly dangerous:



Yes, that's a bee. I love bees, but I don't go around annoying them.

And some things only appear dangerous:


That's a hover fly, Simosyrphus grandicornis . Photo from Fir0002/Flagstaffotos


When an animal looks like something more dangerous than it is itself, it's employing Batesian mimicry.

The word sodality is something of a Batesian mimic.

A sodality is actually a charitable society. It can also mean a  brotherhood or fellowship.

Unlike the hover fly, it's not that easy to see what advantage the word sodality gets from sounding so dodgy and dangerous.

But then it probably does keep out the ignorant, doesn't it.

Word Not To Use Today: sodality. This word is mostly used in the Roman Catholic church. It comes from the Latin sodālitās, fellowship, from sodālis, comrade.