Balderdash for the Medieval Gay #31
June 15, 2008
(a compendium of queer words for the modern fag with a passion for the Middle Ages added hebdomadally on the Sabbath day)
31.) Naevus
-noun singular
a.) A birthmark or mole.
b.) A congenital mark on the skin.*
[Origin: from Latin naevus "mark" or "spot."]
*Such marks were often called witches’ marks (also called a Devil’s mark or a witches’ teat) and indicated that the bearer of the mark was associated with sorcery or other devious activities. These marks were assumed to be associated with the feeding of witches’ imps or familiars. Evidence of hysteria about witches’ marks reached its peak in 1645 with the height of the witch trials.
