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Meaning & History
From Latin carmen "song, verse, enchantment, religious formula", from canere "to sing" (the notion is of chanting or reciting verses of magical power). In Roman legend Carmenta was a goddess of prophecy and childbirth, the mother of Evander by Mercury. She was ssociated with technological innovation as well as the protection of mothers and children, and a patron of midwives. Carmenta was also said to have invented the Latin alphabet.