Ɛpsilon

From W. E. Darwin   10 February [1880]1

Basset

Feb 10th

My dear Father,

We got back v. comfortably & S. is quite fresh today comparatively speaking.2 dia in composition means through, across, as diabainō to go across— diaballō to throw across.3

I send the small Greek dictionary by rail.

My love to mother— I hope she is better.

Your affect Son | W. E. Darwin

The next time you have the Huxleys give us a chance of meeting them—4 S. is very anxious to meet him

1
The year is established by the reference to returning home (see n. 2, below).
2
William and Sara Darwin had visited Down from 7 to 9 February 1880 (Emma Darwin’s diary (DAR 242)).
3
Diabainō: transliteration of Greek διαβαίνω (cross, pass through); diaballō: transliteration of Greek διαβάλλω (throw across). CD used the term ‘diaheliotropism’ to refer to a movement more or less transverse to the light and induced by it (Movement in plants, p. 5). The term was probably chosen by CD to replace the German term ‘Transversal-Heliotropismus’, which had been introduced by Albert Bernhard Frank (see Frank 1870, p. 77).

Please cite as “DCP-LETT-11352,” in Ɛpsilon: The Charles Darwin Collection accessed on 5 June 2025, https://epsilon.ac.uk/view/dcp-data/letters/DCP-LETT-11352