Friends delivered a delightful gift of a concrete garden statue of a fox. To move this life-like statue to its permanent home in the yard, we needed a hand truck. Researching a hand truck available in our rural area, I found a brand called MAGNA CART, a name that continues to amuse me. You can find MAGNA CART products here.
The Latin word magnus, magna, magnum is an adjective that means “big, large, great.” The third form, magnum, has become an English word with various meanings including a big bottle (c. 2 bottles) of wine, as in the phrase a magnum of champagne, or a handgun, as in a Smith & Wesson .357 Magnum. The Latin phrase magnum opus also contains the adjective magnum; one’s magnum opus is one’s masterpiece or great work or even an artist’s or creator’s greatest work.
The second form of the Latin adjective, magna, exists in the title of one of the most important and famous pieces of paper in human history, the Magna Carta. Also spelled Magna Charta, the “great charter” is a document English barons and church leaders compelled King John to sign at Runnymede in 1215, thereby promoting the rights of people and limiting the rights of the monarch.
Back to MAGNA CART: English also has the word cart meaning “a small wheeled vehicle” that derives from an Old Norse or Old English root. So if you are an inventor who makes a folding hand cart that can lift great or heavy things, you may think that MAGNA CART is a great, instantly memorable brand name—and you would be right.
