PART THREE: GREEK WORDS IN ENGLISH
UNIT ONE: THE LETTERS & SIMPLE CHANGES
Greek, like Latin is an inflected language. The explanations of case, declensions, verbs, conjugations, principal parts, and so forth, need not be repeated. Greek nouns and adjectives belong to three declensions with the third (or consonant declension, which has many variations) often showing a change in the nominative so that a second combining form (or base) will be given. The Greek verb is even more complex than the Latin, often showing vowel changes (vowel gradation) in the various tenses: the important variations in the stem which are used in English derivatives will be given with each verb..
Since Greek is written in a different alphabet than Latin and English, before Greek words can be borrowed they must first be transliterated, that is, changed from one alphabet into the other. It is traditional to change the Greek words into Latin, to make them conform to Latin spelling conventions. There is, however, no entirely consistent method of transliteration (especially of Greek names) universally followed by writers of English, so that, for example, the name Aeschylus (Latin spelling) will sometimes be seen as Aischulos or even Aiskhulos, depending on the taste of the writer or editor. Many writers on classical Greek literature, history, or culture prefer the spelling that is closest to the original Greek in sound and appearance and so choose to write the name of the "father of tragedy" in one of the latter two forms.The Greek words in these chapters will be given in the Roman alphabet in the transliteration closest to the Greek original (as in the second example, Aischulos). At the end of this chapter the supplement will give some explanations and exercises on the Greek alphabet and using the Greek dictionary.
Some noun and adjective endings
Some typical noun endings are, by gender:
Feminine: -a, -, -(s)is (with many variations in the 3rd declension)
Masculine: -os, -as, -(t)s, -eus, -tr, -tr (with variations in the third declension)
Neuter: -on, -ma (base -mat-), -os
Adjectives: Three terminations are 1) masculine, 2) feminine, and 3) neuter; two terminations are 1) masculine/feminine, and 2) neuter. eta (long e) = ; omega (long o) =
2nd-1st declension: -os, -, -on; -os, -a, -on; -os, -on
3rd declension: -n, -on; -s, -es
3rd-1st declension: -us, -eia, -u; -n, -ousa, -on
Rules for making Greek words conform to Latin orthographical and morphological conventions [i.e. rules of spelling and grammar]:
k > c
krisis > crisis [But ch, kh represent the Greek letter chi (which resembles an X)].
u > y (except in diphthongs: au, eu > au, eu)
ai > ae > e [Latin ae usually becomes English e]
Aischulos > Aeschylus ainigma > enigma
ei > e or i
oi > oe > e or i
ou > u
plouto- > pluto- Thoukudides > Thucydides
Some of the changes in common noun endings:
Endings are frequently dropped as in derivatives from Latin, but when they are retained it is often in a corresponding Latin form.
Other details of transliteration will be treated in the supplement to this chapter. In proper names the Latin spelling is commonly retained, especially for well known persons. For less famous individuals either the Latin spelling or an approximation of the Greek (with many variations) may be used. For example, Platon is almost universally spelled Plato in English (but cf. Italian Platone, French Platon, Spanish Platon) and the adjective Platonic. Another Greek name is variously spelled Euclid when referring to the famous geometer and Euclides, Eukleides when referring to other persons of that name.
Exercise 1 A: Change into Latin spellings and give an English derivative.
Example: etumologia, Latin etymologia, English etymology [remember that Latin -ia > English -y] Be sure you know what the word etymology means and do not confuse it with entomology.
Give the plurals of:
Vocabulary Notes
Mousa > Muse (not mouse). Other words from this root are: museum (originally a shrine of the Muses), music, musicology, museology, and mosaic. To muse (to ponder over) is not related but comes from muser "to sniff around" from Medieval Latin musum ("snout"). Amuse is from muser with the prefix ad- added. Muzzle is from musellum, a diminutive of musum.
krisis is from the verb krinein "to judge, to separate" (related to Latin scribere and cernere) and gives us: crisis, epicrisis, critique, criterion (a means of judging), critic, critical, criticism, hypocrisy, hypocrite, endocrine, exocrine, apocrine, eccrine (excreting externally as sweat glands), hematocrit (which separates the particulate matter of the blood from the plasma).
Some place names. Try to transliterate these. Look up any you do not recognize.
* Stranger, bring the news to the Lakedaimonians that here we lie, obedient to their words. Simonides
Exercise 1 B: Proper names: transliterate and identify briefly
1. Kleopatra
2. Sokrates
3. Thoukudides
4. Elektra
5. Kleio (a Mousa)
6. Aischulos
7. Alkibiades
8. Perikles
9. Apollon
10. Bakchos
11. Kalliope (another Mousa)
12. Alkaios
13. Sappho
14. Thaleia (Mousa)
15. Klutaimnestra
16. Hupatia
17. Alkestis
18. Korinna
19. Epikouros
20. Iokaste
21. Oidipous
22. Sophokles
23. Hesiodos
24. Homeros
25. Apollon
26. Kriton (a good friend of Sokrates)
27. Athene
28. Kroisos
29. Aineias
30. Helene
Choose one or two of the personal names and look up the person in the Oxford Classical Dictionary. Jot down the vital statistics and significance.
Changing Greek words into English:
Greek words come into English in the same ways Latin words do.
1. No change (except in alphabet)
2. The base alone becomes the English word
3. The base + silent -e
4. Changes of endings
5. Irregular changes
Some other irregular changes
See if you can think of another English word from each of these: (see the bottom of the page for some sample answers)
1. paidagogos > pedant and _________________
2. parabole > parlor, Parliament, and _______________
3. archaios > archive and _________________
4. choros > choir and _______________________________
5. aer > air, aria and ______________________________
6. theos > enthusiasm and _____________________________
7. nomos ( > nomisma) > numismatics and ________________
[1. pedagogue, pedagogical; 2. parabola, parable; 3. archaic, archaism, archaeology; 4. chorus, choral, chorea, Terpsichore; 5. aerophage, aerobic, anaerobic, aerodynamics, aerometry, aerology; 6. theology, monotheism, polytheism, theosophy, theurgic, theist, henatheism, atheism, apotheosis, theocratic, pantheism, theodicy, theomorphism, theomachy; 7. nomad, economy, autonomy, astronomy, bionomics, binomial, agronomy, gastronomic, ergonomy, metronome.]
Exercise 2: Change these to English words. First review the lists of common endings and the list of ways in which Greek words become English.
Examples: axioma (that which is thought worthy) > axiom (base alone)
kosmopolites (a citizen of the world) > cosmopolite (base + silent -e)
aoide (song) > ode (various, irregular changes can take place)
Vocabulary VIII
Learn these and try to form English derivatives:
aer air
angelos messenger
anthropos human being
aster star
axios worthy
biblion book
bios life
chroma, chromat- color
daimon spirit, divinity
eikon image, likeness
ergon work
ethos custom
hora time, hour
kosmos order, universe, adornment
kuklos circle
logos word, reason
metron measure
mimos imitator
philos beloved, dear, loving
phone voice
phos, phot- light
schole leisure
sophos wise
theos god
tupos mark
*Exercise 3: Give two or more English derivatives of each of the new vocabulary words. (Turn in.)Examples: ergon > erg, energy, synergy, ergophobia, ergometer, allergy, demiurge, dramaturgical, liturgy, liturgics, georgic, metallurgy, synergism, surgery, thaumaturgy, ergograph, exergue
biblion > Bible, bibliography, bibliolater, bibliophile, biblioklept, gymnobiblist, biblical, bibliophobe, bibliomania, bibliomancy, bibliopole, bibliotics, bibliotheca (a collection or catalogue of books, cf. French, bibliotheque, "library"). Biblion is in origin a diminutive of bublos, "papyrus scroll" (or book), so named from the Phoenician port of Bublos through which Egyptian papyrus was exported to Greece.
Vocabulary Notes
angelos "messenger" > angel, angelic, Angelus, angelology, angelica (an aromatic herb used in medicines and liqueurs), archangel, exangelos (the messenger from the house in a Greek tragedy), evangel (ev- = eu-, "well, good"), evangelist, televangelist. Angelos is of obscure origin.
anthropos "human being" (also of obscure origin) > anthropomorphic, anthropocentric, misanthropy, philanthropic, lycanthropy, anthropopathism (the attribution of human feelings to nonhuman things), anthropometry, anthropophage, theanthropic, anthropoid, anthropogenesis, paleoanthropology.
Check list for Unit One
1. Transliteration: give Roman spellings of: k u ai ei ou oi -os -on -eia
2. Simple changes: list the "rules".
3. Review vocabulary and try the exercise below.
Study the vocabulary list; read the definitions of these words; give meaning of base and another word using it:
aeropause, _______ + pauein (stop): the region of the atmosphere above which planes cannot fly
anthropic, __________ + ic (of, pertaining to): relating to the era of human life on earth
saprobe, sapro- (rotten) + _______ : an organism that is nourished on non-living or decaying organic matter
chromonema (pl. chromonemata), _________ + nema (thread): the threadlike core of a chromosome
horary, ________ + the Latin suffix -ary: lasting an hour, occurring once an hour
philander, __________ + aner, andr- (man). In Greek philandros means "loving men" or "fond of masculine habits" or "fond of one's husband." From the use of the name Philander as a traditional literary lover, however, the word has come to mean "to engage in casual love affairs."
scholia (singular, scholion, Latin scholium), ____________ + the diminutive suffix: lecture notes, explanatory notes or commentary
phenotype, pheno- ( < phainesthai, appear, seem) + __________: the observable appearance of an organism as determined by genetics and environment
Distinguish between: archetype and prototype.
Supplement to Unit One: The Greek alphabet
Greek character Name Transliteration Pronunciation
A a alpha a short: cup; long: father
B b beta b b
G g gamma g, ng hard, go; ng before g/k/ch
D d delta d d
E e epsilon e short e: bet
Z z zeta z sd: wisdom
H h eta e long e: ate
Q q theta th thing [or t-h]
I i iota i short: tin; long: teen
K k kappa k, c k
L l lambda l l
M m mu m m
N n nu n n
C c xi x ks, x
O o omicron o short o: pot
P p pi p p
R r rho r, rh trilled r
S j, s sigma s s
T t tau t t
U u upsilon y, u French u
F f phi ph phone [or p-h]
X x chi ch loch [or c-h]
Y y psi ps ps
W w omega o long o: go
The symbol is not transliterated, but stands for the letter h.
Diphthongs:
ai > ai, ae, e
au > au
ei > ei, e, i
oi > oi, oe, e, i
ou > u, ou
eu > eu
Practice exercises
A. Transliterate into the Roman alphabet and give one English derivative:
B. Put these into Greek:
C. Transliterate these [choose wo and identify them]
D. Put into Greek letters: E = eta; O = omega
Optional: Look up one of these words in a Classical Greek lexicon. The breathing mark [h sound] does not affect alphabetical order (i.e. look up hule under u, upsilon).
Word game: Letter hunt
Find the names of Greek or Roman letters in these words or phrases:
alphabet abecedarium
iotacism chiasmus
rhotacism gamma rays
delta [as Mississippi delta] zed
jot lambda point
sigmoid flexure tau cross
alpha and omega betatron
lambda particle alphanumeric
Phi Beta Kappa asigmatic
chiasmus l ambdoidal (suture)
xi particle
What is Y called in French?
What is the formula for the circumference of a circle? for the area of a circle?
What other Greek letters are used in mathematics and physics?
Words in Context
- Nor shall this peace sleep with her; but as when
- The bird of wonder dies, the maiden phoenix,
- Her ashes new-create another heir
- As great in admiration as herself. Shakespeare
Clap an extinquisher on your irony, if you are unhappily blessed with a vein of it. Charles Lamb
The hegemonic world system is what it is, thre is no outside to it, and so, as the only possible world, it is the best of all possible worlds. James Hynes, The Lecturers Tale.
The few rolls of papyrus which the ancients deemed a notable collection of books... Lytton
What the energetic pleonasm of our ancestors called "a false lie". [1860]
Tobacco, divine, rare, superexcellent tobacco, which goes far beyond all their panaceas, potable gold, and philosopher's stones, a sovereign remedy to all diseases. But as it is commonly abused by most men ... 'tis a plague, a mischief ... hellish, devilish and damned tobacco, the ruin and overthrow of body and soul. Robert Burton
History In Words
-Cliometrics-
The use of statistical analysis and data processing in the study of history.
From Clio, the Muse of History + metrics (science of measurement)
The Muses were not originally "Muses of this or that", but were beautiful singers who accompanied Apollos lyre and sang for the gods and inspired mortals. Later they were given attributes and particular subjects:
-ACADEMY-
With "the": the academic community, higher education, a society of artists and/or scholars. A secondary, college-preparatory, or military school; an institution ranked between a college or university and a school.
The Academy: Platos school, the followers of Plato, or their philosophy.
From Greek
Akademeia (Akademia), a gymnasium near Athens where Plato and his associates talked, later divided into the old, middle and newer Academy. The place was named after the obscure Attic hero Akademus.
"Groves of Academe" comes to us from Horace:
inter silvas Academi quaerere verum, Epistles 2.2.45.
John Robinson, Archaeologia Graeca (1807): Academy ... was a large enclosure of ground which was once the property of a citizen of Athens named Academus. Some however say that it received its name from an ancient hero. [OED]
UNIT TWO: COMPOUNDS FROM TWO GREEK NOUN BASES
Many derivatives from Greek are formed from two noun bases. In such compounds one element usually depends on the other in a genitive or adjectival relationship.
The most common connecting vowel in such compounds is -o-; but
-a- is sometimes used in compounds having a first declension noun as the first element. Nouns of the third declension sometimes retain their own stem vowel but often drop it and add -o-.
Study this list of combining forms commonly used as elements in compounds. Learn any marked *.
* philo- [Greek, philos, loving, dear] love of
philology, love of logos
* -phile one loving
bibliophile, lover of books
-philous, -philic tending to love
-philia; -philiac love of > tendency toward > abnormal attraction to; one abnormally attracted to
* miso- [Greek, misos, hatred] hate of
- misology, hatred of logos
- misocapnist, one who hates smoke
* -meter [Greek, metron, measure] an instrument for measuring, a measure
- thermometer, an instrument for measuring heat
- perimeter, the circumference or measure around
-metry, the measurement of, science of measuring
telemetry, measurement from a distance
* -phone [Greek, phone, voice] sound, sound emitting device
telephone, device for emitting sound from far away
-latry [Greek, latreia, service for pay] worship of
idolatry, worship of idols
-later worshipper of
-latrous tending to worship
heliolater, sun worshipper
chrematolatrous, tending to worship money
* -logy [Greek logos, word] discourse, speech, the science, theory, study of
- anthropology, the study of mankind
- deontology, the study of duties
- axiology, the study of value judgments
*-phobia [Greek phobos, fear] fear of
agoraphobia fear of the marketplace/open places
-phobe one who fears
skiaphobe one who fears shadows
*-nomy [Greek nomos, law, custom, usage] systematized knowledge of, laws concerning
astronomy systematized study of the stars
*-scope [Greek skopein, to look at] instrument for observing
telescope instrument for observing from afar
-gony, -geny [Greek goneia, generation < gonos, offspring, seed] production of
- cosmogony production/creation of the universe
- orogeny, the generation of mountains
-genesis [Greek, genesis, birth, origin] generation, birth
parthenogenesis virgin birth
* -onym [Greek onoma, name] name
- row, row -- bow, bow
- lead, lead -- sow, sow
-mancy [Greek manteia, prophecy] telling the future by
- necromancy divination by means of dead bodies/ghosts
- rabdomancy divining with a rod
-mancer, one who divines
-cracy [Greek kratia, strength, power] government by
democracy government by the people
-iatry [Greek iatreia, healing] medical treatment
psychiatry medical treatment of soul/mind
-iatrist, -iatrician physician who treats
- podiatrist foot doctor
- pediatrician doctor who treats children
* -graphy [Greek graphein, to write] a method of writing; a descriptive science
- iconography method of drawing images
- geography descriptive science of the earth
-graph means of writing/drawing; something drawn/written
-graphic having to do with method of writing / descriptive science
-grapher one who writes about a field; one who uses a specific means of writing or drawing
* -archy [Greek archE, rule, beginning] government, rule
monarchy rule by one
arch- chief, first archbishop
* -mania [Greek mania, madness] madness, exaggerated craving
bibliomania excessive craving for books
-maniac one displaying such an excessive craving
Exercise 1: Using the new combining elements and the vocabulary from the previous chapter (or words given with the exercises below), make up words meaning:
Using the new combining forms and the vocabulary from chapter eight, make up four or more additional definitions and words:
Exercise 2: What do these mean?
Exercise 3: make up fifty -logies: if you run out use the glossary. Know what the subject of each -logy is.
Need some help? Perhaps there are some here you did not think of:
Optional exercise: what do these fear?
Some words from the Grandiloquent Dictionary by Russell Rocke:
philotheoparoptesism ( < philo- theo- par(a)- + optan "roast" paroptan "to half roast") "to roast slowly for the love of God" said of heretics and others who have won the displeasure of the hierarchy.
osseocarnisanguineoviscericartilaginonervomedullary, without doubt a sesquipedalian, used to describe (in some detail) the structure of the human body, "made up of bone, flesh, blood, internal organs, cartilage, nerves and marrow." Translated into Greek elements, it becomes the comparatively streamlined, but still poly-syllabic, osteosarcohematenterochondroneuromyelic.
gawkocracy TV addicts as voters.
dystopia a place as bad as utopia is good, a word made up for humorous effect, as if utopia had been coined from eu- (good) instead of ou- (not) + topos (place).
Vocabulary IX
* algos [-algia] pain
anemos wind [cf. Latin, animus/anima breath, spirit]
aner, andr- man (male)
atmos steam, vapor
* chronos time
demos the people
dendron tree
ethnos nation, people
gamos marriage, sexual union
* ge [geo-] earth
glossa/glotta tongue, language
* gune, gunaik- woman
haima, haimat- [hem-/hemat-] blood
helios the sun
histos web, tissue
* hudor, hydro- water
* ichthus fish
karpos fruit
kephale head
* lithos stone
lukos wolf
* meter, metro- mother
* morphe shape, form
muthos speech, story
naus ship -naut sailor
nekros corpse
nephos/nephale cloud
* oikos [eco-] house, environment
ornis, ornitho- bird
oros mountain
osteon bone
* pais, paid- [ped-] child
* pater, patro- father
* pathos suffering, experience -pathy illness
petra rock
phos, photo- light
* polis city, city-state
pous, pod- foot
* psyche soul, breath, life
pur fire
* soma, somato- body
stethos chest
stichos line, verse
taphos tomb
tekton [-tect] carpenter, builder
techne art, skill
telos [teleo-] end
therapon/theraps attendant therapeia treatment
topos place
xenos foreigner, stranger
* zoon animal, living thing
Some additional words with some of their derivatives for use in the exercises:
- aitia [etio-] cause etiology, etiological, etiologist
- hypsos height hypsometer, hypsography
- kruos [cryo-] frost cryotherapy, cryogenics
- martur witness martyr, protomartyr, martyrology
- plutos wealth plutocrat, plutocracy, plutology
- rhiza root rhizoid, rhizome, rhizopus, rhizogenic
- skia shadow skiaphobe, skiagraphy, squirrel
- tokos birth Theotokos, tocology
- xulon wood xylophone, xylem, xylography, xylose
Exercise 4: Make up or find two or more words using each of the new vocabulary words, five for those marked with an asterisk (*).
Examples:
soma, base: somat-, "body" > chromosome, idiochromosome, schistosome, microsome, somatic, psychosomatic, somatopsychic, somatology, somatogenic (arising within the body), somatotype (physique), somatoplasm (the protoplasm of a body cell)
lithos, "stone" > lithoid, lithic, lithology, lithography, lithosphere (the earth's rocky crust), Neolithic, Palaeolithic, Mesolithic (Miolithic), monolith, nephrolithectomy, xenolith ("foreign stone", that is, a rock foreign to the igneous mass in which it is found), lithiasis (production of bodily stones), litharge ("silver stone"), lithium (Li), lithophyte (a plant that grows on rocky surfaces), lithotrity ("stone crushing" as a surgical procedure); the combining element -lite comes from lithos, as in phonolite ("clinkstone", so named because it clinks when hit), chrysolite ("gold stone", also called olivene)
xenos, "strange, stranger" > xenon (Xe), xenia ("hospitality" used in botany with reference to hybrid plants), xenogenesis (supposed generation of offspring unlike the parents), xenogamy (cross-pollination), xenolith, xenophobe, xenophobia, euxenite ("good to strangers" used of a mineral containing many strange elements), pyroxene ("stranger to fire" of a foreign substance in igneous rock), xenoglossy (the speaking of a foreign language by a person in a trance), Euxine (the Greek name for the Black Sea)
taphos, "funeral rites, grave" > epitaph (inscription on a gravestone, unlike epithets, epitaphs are unlikely to be hurled), cenotaph ( < kenos "empty"), taphonomy (the study of what happens to bones after death)
Exercise 5
A. Take apart and define or use in a sentence:
1. etiology
2. neuralgia [neuron, nerve]
3. anemometer
4. anthropomorphic
5. androgyny
6. atmometer
7. biography
8. dendrochronology
9. ethnocentric
10. misogamy
11. geometrical
12. glossalgia
13. gyniatric
14. demophobia
15. hemophilia
16. heliograph
17. histopathology
18. hydromancy
19. ichthyornis
20. carpomania
21. hydrocephalous
22. cryoscope
23. lithograph
24. martyrology
25. metropolis
26. geomorphology
27. mythomania
28. cosmonaut
29. necropolis
30. economy
31. ornithocracy
32. orogeny
33. nephelolater
34. osteopath
35. pediatry
36. patriarch
37. psychopath
38. petroglyph [gluphein carve]
39. photography
40. plutonomy
41. cosmopolis
42. podiatry
43. psychosomatic
44. rhizomorph
45. pyromancy
46. skiagraphy
47. chromosome
48. stethoscope
49. technocrat
50. stichomythia
51. teleological
52. theocracy
53. cryotherapy
54. Theotokos
55. topolatry
56. xylography
57. xenophile
58. zoogeography
59. xenoglossy
60. gynecocracy
* B. Make up words meaning: (Turn in B or C)
*C. Give five or more derivatives from each of the following: (Turn in C or B.)
1. bios
2. zoon
3. ge
4. psuche
5. polis
6. soma
7. ichthus
8. chronos
Still looking for -logies? Perhaps these will help:
D. Give meaning of base word(s); look up any that interest you:
Example: oread, base oros "mountain" [oread, mountain nymph]
1. anemone
2. gamete
3. philodendron
4. hematoma
5. glossalalia
6. gynaeceum
7. helium
8. morpheme
9. ecumenical
10. patriot
11. phosphate
12. petroleum
13. pedagogue
14. empyreal
15. enthusiasm [en + theos]
16. hydra
17. teleost
Optional: Guess what bases these are hiding:
18. pew
19. squirrel
20. licorice
21. parsley
22. diocese
23. parish
24. talisman
E. Give examples of:
1. an etiological myth or story
2. anthropomorphism
3. a gloss
4. a patronymic
5. a matronymic
6. a plutomaniac
7. a megalopolis
8. stichomythia
F. What are these concerned with?
Checklist for Unit Two
1. Common compounding nouns
2. New Vocabulary
Some words from arche/archein: archaic, archaism, archaeology, archaeopteryx, Archeozoic, Archean, archbishop, archiepiscopate, archdeacon, archidiaconate, archpriest, archdiocese, archimage (cf Magi), archduchess, archduke, archfiend, archdevil, exarch, archipelago, architect, architrave, archives, autarchy, menarche, archon, matriarch, patriarchate, archetypical, archenteron ...
Supplement for Unit Two
Words from Greek mythology and culture
1. Explain why:
2. What are these:
The Judgment of Paris The Wrath of Achilles
The Labors of Heracles Penelope's Web
The Seven against Thebes Philoctetes' Cave
The Sirens' Song The Sphinx's Riddle
Achilles' Heel A Procrustean Bed
Nephelococcygia Batrachomyomachy
3. In Search of... Find twelve Olympian Gods in this puzzle:
O R E H N O E H T N A P Z E G
A L M A H E P H A E S T U S O
P O S I E D E E P R A E E E H
H E U Z R R N R P O T Z S R C
R E T E M E D A O S H E P A R
O L P E A P O L L O E U M H A
D O S O N I E D O P N S I I E
I B A A L A S A T N A A N A S
T H E M E S U S Y N O I D R D
E X N O D I E S O P G D R A S
History in Words
-solecism-
A nonstandard usage or grammatical construction, such as "...between you and I..."
A violation of etiquette.
Any impropriety, a mistake, or an incongruity.
From Greek soloikismos, from soloikizein (soloiki/zein), to speak incorrectly, from soloikos, speaking incorrectly, after Soloi (Soli), an Athenian colony in Cilicia where a dialect regarded as substandard was spoken. Greek has various verbs about speaking Greek and other tongues such as hellenizein (e(llhni/zein "to speak Greek"), attikizein (a)ttiki/zein "to speak Attic Greek").
Not to be confused with solipsism (the belief that the self is the only reality).
--inauguration
A formal induction into office.
From Latin inaugurre < in-, "in" intensive pref. + augurre, "to augur"
From augur, "a soothsayer" an ancient Roman religious official who foretold the future by interpreting signs and omens, that is by reading the auspices (< Latin auspicium < avis "bird" + spicere/specere "to look at")
From the Indo-European Root *AUG- "to increase"Some other interesting derivatives of this root are:
From Old English
From Latin augere, auctum "to increase" augment, auction, augend, author (Latin, auctor), authorial, authorize
From Latin augustus "majestic": August, august
From Greek au)ca/nein / au)/cein (auxanein / auxein) "increase": auxin (a plant hormone), auxesis (increase in size through cell growth)
UNIT THREE: GREEK ADJECTIVES USED IN ENGLISH WORDS
Vocabulary X
Study these Greek adjectives. They are mostly used as first elements in compounds. Learn those marked *.
akros [acro-] topmost
* allos [allo-] other
aristos [aristo-] best
* autos [auto-] self
axios [axio-] worthy
barus [bary-, bari-, baro-] heavy -bar a unit of pressure
bathus [bathy-, batho-] deep
brachus [brachy-] short
etumos [etymo-] true
eurus [eury-] wide
gumnos [gymno-] naked
* heteros [hetero-] other, one of two
hieros [hiero-] holy
* holos [holo-] whole
homos [homo-] one and the same
homoios [homeo-, homoio-] like
hugros [hygro-] wet, moist
* idios [idio-] one's own, peculiar
* isos [iso-] equal
* kainos [ceno-, caeno-; -cene] new
kakos [caco-] bad, ugly
kalos [kal-, calo-, calli-] beautiful
kenos [ken-, ceno-] empty
koinos [ceno-, coeno-] common
* makros [macro-] long
* megas, megal- [mega-, megalo-; -megaly] big
* mikros [micro-] small
* monos [mono-] alone, only, single
murios [myrio-] countless, 10,000
* neos [neo-] new
oligos [oligo-] few
orthos [ortho-] straight
oxus [oxy-] sharp
* palaios [paleo-, palaeo-] old
* pas, pant- [pan-, panto-] all
platus [platy-] wide, broad
* polus [poly-] much, many
pleion [plio-, pleo-] more, greater
pleistos [pleisto-] most, greatest
* protos [proto-] first
* pseudes [pseudo-] false
stenos [steno-] narrow
stereos [stereo-] solid, firm
* tele [tele-] far away [adverb]
thermos [thermo-] warm, hot
trachus [trach-, trachy] rugged, harsh
xeros [xero-] dry
Exercise 1: Form words meaning
Exercise 2: Give opposites of:
Exercise 3: define parts; give meaning of the whole word
1. acromegaly
2. acropolis
3. allogamy
4. autoecious
5. isobar
6. bathymetry
7. etymography
8. eurybathic
9. brachylogy
10. gymnobiblism
11. heterology
12. hieroglyph [gluphein carve]
13. Holocene
14. homeopathy
15. hygroscope
16. idiolatry
17. isotope
18. pleistocene
19. kaleidoscope [eidos form, what is seen]
20. caceconomy
21. cenobiarch
22. megalomania
23. omicron [o = o]
24. macron
25. monologue
26. myriapod
27. oligocene
28. orthoepy [epos word]
29. paleontology [-ont- being]
30. pantheon
31. platypus
32. polyphone
33. prototype
34. gymnosophist
35. theosophy
36. stenography
37. stereophonic
38. stereoscope
39. isotherm
40. trachea
41. xerophil
42. telemetry
43. polychromatic
44. gymnophilia
45. holograph
46. isosceles [skelos leg]
47. pliocene
48. megalomorph
49. monoecious [ < oikos]
50. orthoscope
* Exercise 4 Make up or find five words using each of these: (Turn in.)
1. autos
2. protos
3. megas
4. micros
5. macros
6. monos
7. polus
8. pseudes
9. tele
10. palaios
11. neos
12. allos
Examples:
pas "all" [bases pan-, panto-]: pantomime, panacea, pantheon, pancreas, panoply, panegyric, pangenesis, pandemic, pandect, pandaemonium, panorama, pantograph, pantothenic acid, Pan-American, Pan-Hellenic
heteros "other, different": heteronym, heteromorphous, heterogeneous, heterogamy, heterosexual, heterodox, heterophyllous (phulla, leaves), heterophyte, heteroplasty, heterotrophic, heterosporous, heterochromatic: variegated
- heterodyne: having alternating currents
- heteroecious: living on different hosts (of parasites)
- heterogenous: originating outside the body
- heterography: inconsistent system of spelling
- heterogynous: having two different types of female
- heterology: lack of correspondence
- heteronomous: subject to external laws (not autonomous)
- heterosis: increased strength through cross-breeding
- Heteroousian: one believing in different natures (of the Father and the Son; cf. Homoiousian and Homoousian)
isos "equal": isobar, isosceles, isotherm, isotone, isotope, isomorphism, isogram, isochromatic, isomer, isochronal, isoclinal, isodynamic, isogamete, isopoda, isometric, isogon (-gon, "angle"), isogloss: a boundary marking the area in which a given linguistic feature is present, isohel: a line connecting areas with equal sunlight
platus, "wide" > platy (a fish), platyhelminth (a flatworm), platyrrhine (having a broad nose), platypus, plateau, plate, platen, platform, platitude, platinum, plaice, plane tree ( < platanos), AND, through plateia (feminine of platus, with hodos "road, way, street" understood), place, plaza, piazza.
Exercise 5. Review the vocabulary and find two or more words using each new adjective.
Some examples:
1. To help you distinguish kainos, kenos, koinos:
kainos, "new" > Cenozoic, Holocene, Pleistocene, Pliocene, Miocene, Oligocene, Eocene, Paleocene, cenogenesis, kainite. Cognate to recent from Latin.
kenos, "empty" > cenotaph, kenosis
koinos, "common" > Koine, cenobium, cenobite, cenobiarch, epicene, coenocyte, coenurus. Cognate to Latin cum ("with"; cf. prefix com-)
2. Some others:
akros > acrophobia, acronym, acrobat, acrocarpous (bearing fruit on top), acrodont (having rootless teeth that are fused to the jaw), acrogen (a plant in which all growth is from the tip of the stem, as a fern), acromegaly (enlargement of the extremities), acropolis, acrostic ( < stichos "line").
hieros > hieroglyphic, hieratic, hierarchy (a body of people classified by rank, the clergy by ranks), hierocracy (government by the clergy), hierology (sacred literature), hierogram (a sacred symbol), hierodule (a temple slave), hierophant (one who officiates at the revelation of sacred things to initiates)
idios > idiot, idiom, idiomorphic, idiopathy, idiosyncrasy, idiolect. idioplasm NOT to be confused with ideo- which indicates "idea, form" (ideology, ideogram, ideologue)
stenos > stenographer, stenophagous, stenothermal
stereos > stereo, stereophonic, stereobate (a solid base), stereochemistry, stereochromy, stereogram (a solid diagram or picture), stereotype, stereoscope, microstereoscopic, steroid, cholesterol, ergosterol, stereopticon
Exercise 6 Give examples of:
Example: acronyms: NIMBY (Not In My BackYard); POSSLQ (Person of Opposite Sex Sharing Living Quarters); PESFA (Palouse Empire Science Fiction Association); RADAR (RAdio Detecting And Ranging); WASP (White Anglo-Saxon Protestant); WAC (Women's Army Corps); NCAR (National Center for Atmospheric Research); NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization); MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving); NAFTA, OPEC, AIDS.
1. heteronyms
2. allegory
3. oxymoron
4. cacoepy (cf. Mrs Malaprop and Archie Bunker)
5. cacoethes (< ethos)
6. cenobium
7. homograph
8. homonyms
9. cacography
10. pseudonym
Optional: New nouns in the exercises
Use each of these word elements in an English word. If you cannot think of any, see below.
Hints:
Vocabulary Note
brachus "short" is cognate to the Latin brevis. Words in brachy-, such as brachylogy, brachycephalic, brachydactylic, brachyuran, brachypterous, are derived from it. From the comparative comes brachion "the upper arm" < "shorter" (as opposed to the forearm) and such words as brachiopod, brachiosaur ("arm foot" and "arm lizard" respectively), brachial, brachiate. The superlative is brachistos > brachistochrone ("the shortest time").
Exercise 7 [optional] Interesting words using new vocabulary. Choose 3 or 4 and find their origins and meanings:
1. elixir
2. sophomore [not as popularly believed "wise fool"]
3. autarky
4. Jerome
5. hoi polloi [not to be confused with hoity-toity]
6. pancreas
7. panacea
8. minster [as in Westminster]
9. autacoid
10. Eurydice
11. idiot
12. place
13. panoply
14. panegyric
15. protocol
16. cholesterol
17. phylloxera
18. xerox
19. barium
20. coenurus
21. autochthonous
22. cacoepy
23. oxymoron
24. coenosarc
25. etymon
26. pseudepigrapha
27. autopsy [opsis sight]
28. gymnosophist
Check list for unit three
1. Greek adjectives: review; use each in a word
2. New words in lesson: learn interesting ones and use them in sentences.
Supplement for unit three: Greek numbers
1. Fill in Latin equivalents.
2. Tell how many:
Some interesting words derived from Greek numbers: diploma, hectare, enosis, dimity, hendiadys, hyphen, trapezoid, Pentecost, tetra, trivet
Numbers Game: ordinal/cardinal
Match cardinals with ordinals of the same rank and language: this game uses both Greek and Latin.
Words in Context
In truth, as David Lodge knows very well, academics are never all that hip. "Cutting-edge academic" may actually be an oxymoron." Lisa Zeidner (in a review of David Lodge, Thinks..., N Y Times 10 June 2001.)
Polyglot waiters can tell us when the train starts in four or five languages. [1873]
This same philosophy is a good horse in the stable, but an arrant jade on a journey. Oliver Goldsmith
- The Philatelist Royal / Was always too loyal
- To say what he honestly / Thought of Philately Robert Graves
Histories make men wise; poets, witty; the mathematics, subtle; natural philosophy, deep, moral, grave; logic and rhetoric able to contend. Francis Bacon
Hardy became a sort of village atheist brooding and blaspheming over the village idiot. G. K. Chesterton
History in Words
-Shibboleth-
"a password, test or watchword of a party, faction, or ethnic group." OR "a password, phrase, custom, usage, catchword, slogan that is distinctive of a particular group" [Scribner's dictionary].
The word comes from Hebrew and entered English as a transliteration of its original in Wycliff's 1382 translation of the Bible.
The meaning in Hebrew is "an ear of corn" OR "a stream in flood." How did a word meaning "an ear of corn" or "a stream in flood" come to mean a password?
The answer can be found by reading the passage in question: Judges xii.4-6.
Then Jephthah gathered all the men of Gilead and fought with Ephraim; and the men of Gilead smote Ephraim, because they said, "You are fugitives of Ephraim, you Gileadites, in the midst of Ephraim and Manassaeh." And the Gileadites took the fords of the Jordan against the Ephraimites. And when any of the fugitives of Ephraim said, "Let me go over," the men of Gilead said to him, "Are you an Ephraimite?" When he said, "No," they said to him, "Then say Shibboleth," and he said Sibboleth," for he could not pronounce it right; then they seized him and slew him at the fords of the Jordan. And there fell at that time forty-two thousand of the Ephraimites. [RSV]
The word shibboleth was, as you can see from this context, used by Jephthah, king of the Gileadites, to distinguish the fleeing Ephraimites, who could not pronounce the sh sound, from his own men. The word passed into English from this passage and was gradually extended to a more general use, to mean any word, phrase, or sound which can be used as a test to detect outsiders or foreigners. For example, "They had a shibboleth to discover them, he who pronounced Brot and Cawse for Bread and Cheese hat his head lopt off" [John Cleveland, 1658].
UNIT FOUR: GREEK SUFFIXES
Noun and adjective forming suffixes
-ic, -tic pertaining to, having to do with
- ethnic having to do with a people or nation
- cosmetic
having to do with beautification
-ac used instead of -ic if an -i immediately precedes
cardiac having to do with the heart
-ics [Greek, -ika] things having to do with > art, science, study of [usually used with a singular verb]
study of sounds/things that are heard (used with a singular verb in the first sense, with a plural verb in the second sense)
- acoustics
physics study of nature
-ical < -ic + -al (Latin), pertaining to, having the nature of
pertaining to citizens/having to do with the relationship of citizens to the state [polis]political
-oid resembling, like, shaped
android {thing that is} man-shaped thyroid door (thura) shaped
-ite one connected with, inhabitant of; a commercial product, a mineral
an inhabitant of Sybaris > a person devoted to luxurious living; a hedonist
- sybarite
lucite a clear {transparent} commercial product Joesmithite a mineral named after Joe Smith
-ism the belief in, profession or practice of
hylozoism belief in connection of life and matter
-ist one who believes in, professes, or practices, a follower of
dramatist one who makes plays
-ast one who does or practices, one who believes in
- dicast one who does justice ecdysiast stripper
- iconoclast
one who breaks images
-isk, -iscus small
asterisk a little star meniscus a little moon
-ia, -y act, state of [abstract noun forming suffix]
state of being a citizen: relation of citizens to the state
- polity
utopia "no place" (ou "not")
-sis act, state, condition of
- kenosis condition of being emptied
- thesis act of putting, setting
-m, -me, -ma [base, -mat-] result of
- theorem result of observing
- theme result of setting
- plasma
result of forming- mathematics
"things having to do with the result of learning"
Suffix exercise:
Make up or find at least three words using each suffix.
Examples:
-isk, -iscus, "small" asterisk, basilisk (a mythical serpent, "little king"), obelisk ("a little spit")
-oid "like" android, gynecoid, humanoid, anthropoid, "droid," odontoid, crystalloid, planetoid, spheroid, adenoid, asteroid, thyroid, pyroid, colloid, dendroid, sarcoid
-ast "one who does" iconoclast, dynast, pederast, dicast, osteoclast, gymnast, ecdysiast, scholiast, enthusiast. Words in -plast and -blast are not true -asts.
-ma "result of" plasma, protoplasm, coma, comma, axiom, anathema, biome, cinema, stigma (pl. stigmata), problem, lemma, pragmatic, dogma, dogmatic, drama, dramatic, gram, diagram, polygram, epigram, anagram, program, poem, rheum, schism, schismatic, enema, asthma, enigma, panorama, chrism, scheme, rhematic (pertaining to word formation)
Another suffix for your amusement:
-aster a diminutive suffix from Latin that implies inferiority; one who has pretenses or dabbles in something
*Exercise 1 Using vocabulary of previous lessons, make up words meaning: (Turn in # 21-33.)
Exercise 2: Take apart and define:
1. chthonic
2. epic
3. oxytonic
4. orthodontist
5. necrosis
6. chiliast
7. android
8. misoneism
9. macrobiotic
10. kenosis
11. cryogenics
12. geopolitics
13. zodiac [< zodiakos kuklos] [< zodion, diminutive of zoon]
14. asterisk
15. gymnast
16. necrographist
17. axiologist
18. demotic
19. sophism
20. telepathy
21. monomaniac
22. typographical
23. prototypical
24. theism
25. telekinesis [< kinein move]
Exercise 3 make up words from these bases using as many of the new suffixes as you can:
1. mimos
2. axios
3. chroma, chromat-
4. ethos
5. cosmos
6. aster
7. schole
8. tupos
9. oikos
10. psuche
11. hupnos [sleep]
Examples: anthropos ("human being"): anthropoid, philanthropic, philanthropist, misanthropy, anthropological, anthropomorphism, anthropopathism, anthropogenesis, anthropophagy, anthropophobia.
graphein ("write"): pseudepigraphical, program, epigrammatic, graphics, graphologist, graphite, agraphia, graptolite, epigraphic, topography, tachygraphy, grammatical (grammar, glamor), brachygraphy.
Vocabulary XI
Go over these; learn any marked with an asterisk
"Periphrastics" are rewritten proverbs, maxims, or cliches with sesquipedalian words and phrases substituted for the energetic and epigrammatic expressions of the originals, for example:
Let it be interdicted to apply a stomatoscope to a donated hippic quadruped.
Exercise 4
A. Take these apart (optional)
1. colloid
2. agronomic
3. anthology
4. tyrannosaurus
5. intergalactic
6. phrenetic
7. sematic
8. hypnosis
9. hylozoism
10. hoplite
11. chemotherapy
12. chlorosis
13. helicoid
14. hipparch
15. cynophile
16. mitosis
17. polemics
18. eremite
19. rhetorical
20. panoply
21. catharsis
22. dinokeras
23. magic
24. phylum
25. sclerosis
26. chrysanthemum
27. electrotype
28. angiosperm
29. toxemia
30. stearic
31. phylogeny
B. Make up words meaning:
C. Some interesting words and names derived from the new vocabulary. Choose one or two and find out what they mean and how they come to be used as they are.
Some more "periphrastics":
A hiatus quickly develops between a fatuous or moronic individual and his (or her) pelf.
A bursoklept obtains merely quisquilious matter from me.
Chronotherapy is the optimal treatment for every trauma.
People and places:
1. A biblioklept would be most unwelcome a. in a shoestore b. at church c. in the library d. at a bar
2. A necrophobe would very likely avoid a. high places b. zoos c. the gymnasium d. mortuaries
3. The likeliest place to see a lycanthrope is a. at a charity ball b. at an art opening c. on creature features d. at tea
4. A cynophile might be met at a. a cat show b. the animal shelter c. the hippodrome d. a philosophers' convention
5. A misologist would be least likely to enjoy a. a public debate b. the superbowl c. grand opera d. a beauty contest
Check list for Unit Four
1. Learn all suffixes.
2. Learn new vocabulary.
3. Make a chart of suffixes and use each in a word.
History in Words
-Burke-
"to murder by suffocation or strangulation" (originally, leaving as little trace as possible, for the purpose of selling the corpse for disscetion in the laboratory). From the name of William Burke, a villain of vocabulary.
Burke was hanged for murder in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1829. He and his partner in crime, William Hare, lived in a rather seedy section of Edinburgh in the early 19th century. One evening a visitor to their rooms happened to pass away. Rather than go to the trouble of disposing of his mortal remains in the traditional manner, the pair carted the corpse off to the University and sold it for the use of medical students. The receipt of seven pounds sterling for as otherwise useless body set the two men on the road of crime. They began enticing other down-and-outers to their rooms with the promise of liquid refreshment and not willing to wait for the unlikely event of their dying of natural causes, they carefully smothered them so as to leave them intact for dissection in the school laboratory. Fifteen or more unfortunate wayfarers were thus sacrificed to science and avarice before the two murderers were caught and tried. The Times of London on the day of the execution, 2 February 1829, contained this item:
As soon as the executioner proceeded to his duty, the cries of "Burke him, Burke him, give him no rope," were vociferated. "Burke Hare too."
Other words from people's names include: bowdlerize, dunce, nicotine, lynch, macabre, sadism, chauvinism.
Words in Context
Radionics was already flourishing in England by the mid-fifties. It was a pseudo-scientific practice that had started in the United States in the early part of the twentieth century. It claimed to diagnose and cure at any distance disorders and ailments in people, animals and vegetables. It gained a following, and to-day still enjoys a considerable number of believers. That it is a totally irrational method of healing is not to discount it and certainly the claims of radionics (the word is not in the dictionary) are no more a subject for mockery than the claims of all our religions. Muriel Spark, A Far Cry from Kensington.
The Beatles were the perfect cynosure of the 1960's. (NPR) cynosure: something that is a focus of admiration or attention < kuon, kunos dog + oura tail, dogs tail (a name for the constellation Ursa Minor).
UNIT FIVE: GREEK PREFIXES
* a- [an- before a vowel] not, un-, -less
amphi- both, on both sides, around, about
* ana- [an- before a vowel] up, back, again
* anti- instead, against, in opposition to
* apo- [ap- before a vowel or h] from, away from, off, utterly, completely, lack of
* cata-, cat- [Greek, kata] down, against, completely [opp. ana-]
* dia-, di- through, across, over, assunder
Be careful not to confuse dia with di- "two" (diode, dimeter, dicotyledon) or dicho- which indicates "division into two parts" (dichotomy) or with Latin dis- "in different directions" (dissect, dismiss).
dys- [Greek, dus-] ill, un-, mis-, difficult, bad
* ec-, ex- [Greek, ek, ex] out, from, off
ecto- [Greek, ekto-] on the outside
ectoderm outer skin
* en-, em- in
enantio- [en- + anti-] opposite
endo- within, inside, internal
endoscope instrument for observing inside
eso- inward, within
esoteric more inward
exo- outward, external
* epi- (ep- before a vowel or h) upon, over, at, near
* eu- (rarely, ev-) well, good
* meta-, met- among, between, change, behind, later
palin-, pali- back, again
Examples of palindromes and other palin-, pali- words
* para-, par- beside, beyond, near, incorrectly, like
* peri- around, about
Do not confuse with the Latin prefix per-, "through".
* pro- before, forward, for
Do not confuse with the Latin prefix pro- "forth, for, forward, instead of, publicly" (proceed, procrastinate, progress, proscribe) or with the Greek prefix pros- "to, toward, besides" (see next), or with the Greek adjective protos "first" (protoplasm, protozoic).
pros- to, toward, besides, in front
* syn-, sym-, syl-, sys- [Greek, sun] with, together
* hyper- [Greek, huper] above, beyond, exceedingly
* hypo-, hyp- [Greek, hupo] under
Some pitfalls:
Not from para-: parasol, parachute, parade (from Latin parare); paradise (from a Persian word meaning "a pleasure garden"); parasang (also from Persian); paramour, parboil (both from Latin per-, respectively, "for love" and "boil thoroughly").
Exercise 1 Take apart and define parts: