Etymology
Etymology The Sanskrit term for horo is hora (होरा). Horo-scope is hora-shastra (होरा-शास्त्र). The Latin word horoscopus, ultimately from Greek ὡρόσκοπος "nativity, horoscope", literally "observer of the hour [of birth]", from ὥρα "time, hour" and σκόπος "observer, watcher". In Middle English texts from the 11th century, the word appears in the Latin form and is anglicized to horoscope in Early Modern English. The noun horoscopy for "casting of horoscopes" has been in use since the 17th century (OED). In Greek, ὡρόσκοπος in the sense of "ascendant" and ὡροσκοπία "observation of the ascendant" is in use since Ptolemy (Tetrabiblos 33, 75). Concepts in Western astrology The native is the subject of the event (a birth, for example) being charted at a particular time and place, and is co...