On Sat, 2 Jul 2005, John Kozak wrote:
> Though we're all dirt, actually; there really does seem to be an
> etymological connection between one of the basic IndoEuropean words for
> "person" (appears in Latin as "homo", French "homme" &c) and the world for
> "dirt", "earth" (Latin "humus").
It seems to be true outside the Indo-European tradition as well. IIRC, in Hebrew the word for man is Adam, and the word for earth is Adama. And of course the the whole creation myth there is that one was made out of the other -- and shall return to dust in the end. IIRC also, this wasn't originally a Semitic myth, but one we imported from Mesopotamia when it was settled by yet a different language group.
Michael