From The Alpha and the Omega - Volume III
by Jim A. Cornwell, Copyright © July 20, 2002, all rights reserved "Volume III - The Eleventh Month - Constellation Names for Cygnus"
In the Eleventh Month - Aquarius.

Cygnus, the Swan (Northern Cross).
The constellation name for Cygnus:

• Cygnus Latin cygnus, swan also see CYGNET.
  • Rolleston claims that the Latin Cygnus, means "who comes and goes, circles."
  • Rolleston also claims that "Greek Cycnos, the swan, circling, returning (circuit)."
    • Circle, Circuit.
      • Hebrew chuwg, khoog, from Heb. chuwg, khoog, a primary root to describe a circle, thus a circle, circle, circuit, compass.
      • Hebrew çabiyb, saw-beeb', or (fem.) Heb. çebiybah, seb-ee-baw', from Heb. çabab, saw-bab', a primary root to revolve, surround or border, thus (as noun) a circle, neighbor, or environs, around, about, circuit, compass, on every side.
      • Hebrew t^equwphah, tek-oo-faw', or t^equphah, from Heb. naqaph, naw-kaf', a primary root to surround or circulate, compass, thus a revolution, i.e. (of the sun) course, (of time) lapse, circuit, come about, end.
    • Returning as seen in the Pegasus star names.
      • Rolleston and in "The Witness of the Stars," by E.W. Bullinger, seen on page 90, "a Markab (Hebrew) returning from (afar) (on the neck of the horse)."
        • Hebrew merhak, returning from afar.
      • In the "Gospel of the Stars," by Joseph Seiss, page 77, "Markab, the returning."
  • Some claim that to the Greeks-Romans, Cygnus is Zeus (Roman Jupiter).
  • Richard H. Allen comments: It was Kuknos with Eratosthenes, but usually Ornis; with other Greeks, by which was simply intended a Bird of some kind, more particularly a Hen; although the aiolos of Aratos may indicate that he had in view the "quickly flying swan"; but, as this Greek adjective also signifies "varied," it is possible that reference was here made to the Bird's position in the Milky Way, in the light and shade of that great circle.    With this idea, Brown renders it "spangled."    Aratos also described it as eroeis, "dark," especially as to its wings, an error which Hipparchos corrected.
        When the Romans adopted the title that we now have, our constellation became the mythical swan identified with Cycnus, the son of Mars, or of the Ligurian Sthenelus; or the brother of Phaethon, transformed at the river Padus (Eridanus) and transported to the sky.    [Allen notes: While Cygnus was thus prominent in myth and the sky, the swan was especially so in ancient ornithology, and the subject of many fables, where its "hostility" to other birds and to beasts was made much of; but in these Thompson sees astronomical symbolism, as already has been alluded to under Aquila.] Associated, too, with Leda, the friend of Jupiter and mother of Castor, Pollux, and Helena, it was classed among the Argonautic constellations, and Helenae Genitor, with other names derived from the well-known legend, was applied to it.
  
  
• Cygnus is on the Meridian on September 10 and is one of the larger constellations in the sky and one of the brighter.    It resembles its names, the official name, the Swan, and the unofficial modern name for its central stars, the Northern Cross.
  • Cygnus was one of the earliest constellations to be recognized as a mere bird or hen.
  
  
• This lordly, king-bird of the waters is the Swan or Cygnus the most beautiful of the constellations of the sky because it is the most perfectly formed cross to be found in the sky.    This lovely bird is seen here in rapid flight.
  • This one constellation has a special significance to the Christian.    It is Cygnus, the flying swan or the Northern Cross.    Its six main stars form a huge Roman cross in the summer sky, about the size of the Big Dipper.    This cross is said to be the evening's call to worship.
  • It reminds us of the passage from Luke 21:27 "And then shall they see the SON OF MAN COMING IN A CLOUD with power and great glory."    21:28 "And when these things begin to come to pass, Stand up (then look up) and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near."    This was part of the signs of the end.
  • The constellation sinks westward in the sky until at Christmas time it stands upright just above the horizon in the northwest.
    • There is rich symbolism here in the fact that:
      • The star Deneb at the top of the cross, where the head of Christ was, is a supergiant.
      • While the one at the bottom, Albireo, where his feet were, is a telescopic double, it is really very beautiful with one star yellow and the other blue.
  
  
• Swan.
  • Hebrew tanshemeth, tan-sheh'-meth, from Heb. 'Alvan, al-vawn', from Heb. 'alah, aw-law, to ascend, thus lofty, properly a hard breather, i.e. the name of two unclean creatures, a lizard and a bird (both perhaps from changing color through their irascibility), probably the tree-toad, and the water-hen, mole, swan.
  • From www.lexiline.com, "The star at the Great Square: The Swan (shi-nu-nu-tum)."
    • In Pisces under constellation names for Pisces:
      • Akkadian shinunutu, "The Swallow," is the western fish of Pisces, or the circlet of stars located under Pegasus.
        • The star name e Albali is the most western star in Aquarius and an Arabic word for "swallower."
          • Swallow, Swallowed.
            • Hebrew bela', beh'-lah, from Heb. bala, baw-lah', a primary root to make away with (specially by swallowing), general to destroy, cover, destroy, devour, eat up, swallow down (up), thus a gulp, fig. destruction, devouring, that which he hath swallowed up.
            • Sumerian gu₇, kú: n., food, sustenance; v., to eat, swallow, consume; to eat up, finish off; to feed, nurse, benefit (with -ni-).
  
  
• One source claims cuneiform inscriptions from Western Asia list three constellations which represented demon birds, (all raptors), opponents of Marduk/Herakles:
  
  
• Each of these constellations is at one vertex of the so-called Summer Triangle.
  • First: Deneb, the a star in Cygnus.
    • One source claims this as Khu-zaba.
      • Babylonian/Assyrian Itstsur-qîsti, "Bird-of-the-Forest," now Cygnus.
        • Bird.
          • Hebrew 'ayit, ah'-yit, from Heb. 'iyt, eet, a primary root to swoop down upon, fly, rail, thus a hawk or other bird of prey, bird, fowl, ravenous (bird).
            • Flew.
              • Hebrew 'uwph, oof, a primary root to cover (with wings or obscurity), hence (as denom. from Heb. 'owph, ofe, a bird (as covered with feathers or with wings), collectively, flying, fowl), thus to fly.
          • Sumerian mušen: bird (muš, 'reptile', + an, 'sky').
            • Sumerian mušen-dù: fowler ('bird' + 'to mould').
            • Sumerian hu: bird (earlier word than mušen).
              • Sumerian RI-HU: bird breeder (?) ('to tend' + 'birds').
              • Sumerian nam-RI-HU: bird breeder (?) (abstract prefix + 'to tend' + 'bird').
            • Sumerian u₅: n., male bird, cock; totality; v., to mount (in intercourse); to be on top of; to ride; to steer, conduct; adj., (raised) high.
            • Some sources claim that the Akkadian isu, phonetic syllable of gish; Akkadian is-su-ru, bird, derived from the syllable is.
          • Greeks called it Ornis "Bird."
          • Allen states: Popularly the constellation was Ales, Avis, and Volucris, a Bird, — Alea Jovis, Ales Ledaeus, and Avis Veneris, — while Olor, another word for the Swan, both ornithological and stellar, has been current even to modern times.    Phoebi Assessor is cited by La Lande, the bird being sacred to that deity; and Vultur cadens is found for it, but this was properly Lyra's title.    As the bird of Venus it also has been known as Myrtilus, from the myrtle sacred to that goddess; and it was considered to be Orpheus, placed after death in the heavens, near to his favorite Lyre (Lyra).
        • Forest.
          • Hebrew pardeç, par-dace', of foreign origin; Heb. choresh, kho'-resh; Heb. ya'ar, yah'-ar; Heb. ya'arah, yah-ar-aw'.
      • Euktemon, Athenian astronomer, 432 B.C., called this figure Iktînos - "The Kite" (a kite is a fierce hunter-scavenger bird of the hawk family).
        • Kite.
          • Hebrew 'ayah, ah-yaw', perhaps from the Heb. 'iy, ee, thus alas, woe, thus the screamer, i.e. hawk, kite, vulture.
            • Flying.
              • Hebrew 'iyt, eet, a primary root to swoop down upon, fly, rail.
            • Flieth.
              • Hebrew da'ah, daw-aw', a primary root to dart, i.e. fly rapidly, fly, thus the kite (from its rapid flight), vulture.
              • Deut. 28:49 "the earth as swift as the eagle flieth."
        • Hawk.
          • Hebrew nets, nayts, from Heb. natsats, naw-tsats, a primary root to glare, sparkle, thus a flower (from its brilliancy), also a hawk (from its flashing speed), hawk.
          • Hebrew tachmaç, takh-mawse', from Heb. chamaç, khaw-mas, thus a species of unclean bird (from its violence), perhaps an owl, nighthawk.
    
    
  • Second: Vega, the a star in Lyra.
    • One source claims this as Raditarta-khu, the Lammergeier (eagle/vulture), now Lyra.
    • Vulture: noted in the Arabic al waqi'.
      • One source claims Ve'ga, means "the swooping (eagle), and Arabic Al-Waqi', "the stooping" eagle.
      • Sumerian te₈: bearded vulture.
        • Sumerian anzud₍₂₎, anzu₍₂₎-(d)[^dIM.MI/DUGUD^mušen]: a mythical giant bird; vulture, eagle.
      • Hebrew 'ayah, ah-yaw', perhaps from Heb. 'iy, ee, short. form Heb. 'owy, o'ee, alas!, woe, thus the screamer, i.e. a hawk, kite, vulture.
      • Hebrew dayah, dah-yaw', intens. from Heb. da'ah, daw-aw', a primary root to dart, i.e. fly rapidly, fly, thus the kite (from its rapid flight), vulture, a falcon (from its rapid flight), vulture.
      • Hebrew ra'ah, raw-aw', a primary root to see, thus a bird of prey (probably the vulture, from its sharp sight), glede.
      • Allen states in Aquila: Persian titles were Alub, Gherges, and Shahin tarazed, the Star-striking Falcon of Al Nasr al Din, but now divided for beta (Alshain) and gamma (Tarazed).    In the Ilkhanian Tables, as perhaps elsewhere, it was Gups Petomenos, the Flying Vulture.
    
    
  • Third: Altair, the a star in Aquila.
    • One source claims this as Id-khu, the Eagle (Aquila).
      • Eagle.
        • Allen states in Aquila: Our constellation is supposed to be represented by the bird figured on a Euphratean uranographic stone of about 1,200 B.C., and known on the tablets as Id-khu Zamama, the Eagle, the Living Eye.
        • Sumerian urin, ùri: eagle; standard, emblem, banner; blood.
        • Hebrew neshar (Chald.), nesh-ar', corresponds to Heb. nesher, neh'-sher, from an unused root meaning to lacerate, the eagle (or other large bird of prey), thus an eagle.
        • Hebrew racham, raw-khawm', or (fem.) rachamah, raw-khaw-maw', from Heb. racham, raw-kham', a primary root to fondle, to love, thus a kind of vulture (supposed to be tender towards its young), gier-eagle.
        • Allen comments in Lyra: The association of Lyra's stars with a bird perhaps originated from a conception of the figure current for millenniums in ancient India, — that of an Eagle or Vulture; and, in Akkadia, of the great storm-bird Urakhga before this was there identified with Corvus.    But the Arabs' title, Al Nasr al Waki’ — Chilmead's Alvaka, — referring to the swooping Stone Eagle of the Desert, generally has been attributed to the configuration of the group alpha, epsilon, zeta, which shows the bird with half-closed wings, in contrast to Al Nasr al Ta'ir, the Flying Eagle, our Aquila, whose smaller stars, beta and gamma, on either side of alpha, indicate the outspread wings.    Scaliger cited the synonymous Al Nasr al Sakit, from which came the Nessrusakat of Bayer and Nessrusakito of Assemani.
  
  
• Sumerian UD.KA.DU8.A, "The Demon with the Gaping Mouth," Cygnus and part of Cepheus.
  Sumerian ud, (storm) demon + ka, mouth + du₈, open, to crack open + a, the.
  • [Also see UD.KA.DU8.A as found under Pisces in the Cepheus constellation].
  • From www.lexiline.com, "On the 15^th of Kislimu, the Leopard UD.KA.DUCH.A (reference to Cygnus)."
    • Leopard.
      • Hebrew namer, naw-mare', from an unused root meaning properly to filtrate, i.e. be limpid, and spot or stain as if by dripping, a leopard (from its stripes), leopard, with a reference to Hebrew Nimrowd, nim-rode', or Nimrod.
      • Greek pardalis, par'-dal-is, fem. of Gr. pardos (a panther), a leopard, leopard.
  • In Assyro-Babylonian myth, seven evil demons of the utukki, are the ugallu-demon, gallu-demons - can frequently alter their form.
  • Sumerian ud, u₄: n., sun; light; day; time; weather; storm (demon). prep., when; since.
    • Sumerian ud₅: (cf., ùz).
    • Sumerian udug, utug: pitfall; a demonic being.
  • Sumerian ka: mouth.
    • Sumerian ká: gate.
    • Sumerian ka₅-(a): fox.
    • KAD, (the lofty) Mesopotamian / Sumerian, solar title as an uplifted hand with fingers erect.    Egyptian hieroglyph shows two uplifted hands conjoined with a phonetic value of Ka.    "King Ka," Ka derived from the sign Kad or Kat, with the final d dropped as a derivation of the Egyptian hieroglyph.    (Note Ka'a).
  • Sumerian du₈: (cf., duh).
    • Sumerian duh, du₈: n., residue, by-product; bran. v., to crack, loosen, open; to untie; to caulk a boat; to adorn; to gouge (eyes); to bake bread/bricks.
    • Sumerian ^(giš)sa-du₈(-a): a tool ('net, bundle' + 'residue' + nominative).
    • Sumerian ^(giš)eme-sa-du₈-a: a tool ('tongue' + 'net' + 'open' + nominative).
    • Sumerian igi...du₈: to see (often with -ni- or bi-) ('eye' + 'to crack open').
  • Sumerian a, e₄: n., water; watercourse, canal; seminal fluid; offspring; father; tears; flood; interj., alas!; prep., locative suffix - where; in; when - denotes movement towards or in favor of a person; def. article, nominalizing suffix for a noun or noun clause, denoting 'the'.
  • Allen comments: Our Cygnus may have originated on the Euphrates, for the tablets show a stellar bird of some kind, perhaps Urakhga, the original of the Arabs' Rukh, the Roc, that Sindbad the Sailor knew.    At all events, its present figuring did not originate with the Greeks, for the history of the constellation had been entirely lost to them, as had that of the mysterious Engonasin (Hercules), — an evident proof that they were not the inventors of at least some of the star-groups attributed to them.
  
  
• Egyptian/Coptic:
  • On Denderah Zodiac behind Pegasus and below Lyra, the hawk or eagle to the left of Hercules is Aquila, we see a small chicken, duck or goose known as Cygnus, which may have a star below it.
    • Goose, Duck.
      • Sumerian us, uz: domestic goose or duck (possible Semitic loanword).
      • Sumerian uz-tur: duck ('goose' + 'small').
  • Some sources claim it is called by Tes-ark, meaning this from afar.
    • In "The Witness of the Stars," by E.W. Bullinger, seen on page 91 "In the Denderah Zodiac it (Cygnus) is named Tes-ark, which means this from afar."
  
  
• Other names for Cygnus: Adige, Adige'ge, Aldiga'ga, Addigaga'to, Alta'yr Al Dajajah (Arabian, Manetho), Degi'ge, Edegia'gith, Eidigia'gich, Euvisim', Al Fawaris, Hieirizim, Hi'rezym, Hyresyi'n, Al Kalat, Al Katha, Lur'nis, Al Ur'nis, Al Radif, Al Ridhadh, Al Ja'iral Ar'duf, Ur'nis.
  • Allen comments on the following:
        In Arabia, although occasionally known as Al Ta’ir al Arduf, the Flying Eagle, Chilmead's Altayr, or as Al Radif, it usually was Al Dajajah, the Hen, and appears as such even with the Egyptian priest Manetho, about 300 B.C., this degenerating into the Adige, Adigege, Aldigaga, Addigagato, Degige, Edegiagith, Eldigiagich, etc., of early lists, some of these even now applied to its brightest star.
        Scaliger's Al Ridhadh, for the constellation, which degenerated to El Rided, perhaps is the origin of our Arided for the lucida (Alpha star, Deneb Adige), but its signification is uncertain, although the word is said to have been found in an old Latin-Spanish-Arabic dictionary for some sweet-scented flower.
        Hyde gives Katha for it, the Arabic Al Katat, a bird in form and size like a pigeon; indeed, Al Sufi's translator, Schjellerup, defined the latter's title for it, Al Ta’ir, as Ie pigeon de poste; but Al Katat is now the Arabs' word for a common gallinaceous game-bird of the desert, perhaps the mottled partridge.
        These last also were an Arab asterism, Al Fawaris, the Riders; alpha and kappa sometimes being added to the group.
  • The French know it as Cygne; the Italians as Cigno; the Spaniards as Cisne; and the Germans as Schwan.

See Star Names of Cygnus.

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    This page was updated on July 15, 2008.

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