the.com/scepter

a fancy stick that somehow decides who gets to boss around millions.

means A ceremonial staff or rod carried by a monarch as a symbol of sovereign authority.

from From Greek 'skeptron,' a staff or stick to lean on (from a root meaning 'to prop' or 'support'), which passed into Latin as 'sceptrum' and on through Old French into English. The same image of a leaning-stick lurks behind the word 'skeptic' — though there the prop is for the mind, not the hand.

origin
Comes from Greek skeptron, a staff to lean on
power symbol
Pharaohs held two: a crook and a flail
british crown
Sovereign's Sceptre holds the 530-carat Cullinan I diamond
divine claim
Zeus and Agamemnon both ruled via sacred staffs
word twist
A skeptic and a scepter share that doubting Greek root
for instance

scepter of tutankhamun — golden crook and flail found in the boy pharaoh's tomb in the valley of the kings, 1922

scepter of charlemagne — carolingian imperial scepter with eagle head, housed in the hofburg palace, vienna

the.com · every word