Your Greek Word On A Sunday

(Intro & piano music)Εν (en) in Greek is a preposition meaning 'with' 'within' . Εργο (ergo) means 'action'. The translation into Latin show some bumps along the way caused by many back and forths because of a misunderstanding on one of Aristotle's works. He used the combined word, meaning 'at work' as 'powering up' so although in modern Greek the adjective 'ενεργός' (energos) means 'active', 'at work', the noun has two meanings 'action' and ΕΝΕΡΓΕΙΑ/ENERGYTwitter @yourgreeksunday , Insta...

(Intro & piano music)Greek Mathematicians were the first to use this word until Plato came along and used it to describe different realities and bigger ideas. Ανά (ana) is a preposition meaning -among other things- 'upon'. Λόγος (logos) means 'speech', 'thought', 'reason' and 'ratio' . The combined word means 'according to ratio' and is used for literal or metaphorical proportions. ΑΝΑΛΟΓΙΑ/ANALOGYTwitter @yourgreeksunday , Instagram @emmanuela_lia ,email yourgreeksunday@gmail.com

(Intro & piano music)Plato wrote 'Our salvation depends on the correct choice between pleasure and sadness, that is the choice between more, or less.' The ancient Greek verb Αιρώ (aero) has been completely claimed by Christianity and turned on its head with regards to the original meaning and perception of the word. In 380 AD, the Roman emperor Theodosius the 1st , legally tied the word to anyone not Christian (at the time the division between the Catholic and the Orthodox church didn't e...

(Intro & piano music)In ancient Greek mythology there are three women (sometimes more) , daughters of Zeus (sometimes of the Sun or of Dionysus) that are responsible for organising all the feasts in Mount Olympus and making sure that everything is beautiful, joyous, healthy and sexy. No, they're not the Muses although, they were all good friends. They are Aphrodite's followers and they are The Graces! Χάριτες (Charites) in Greek. Their names Αγλαϊα (Aglaea-Radiance), Ευφροσύνη(Evfrosini-J...

(Intro & piano music)I have a three combo word for you today, yup, that's as Greek as it gets! And it seems to have been distorted a little in English in order to single out personality traits but: Ιδιος (idios) in ancient Greek meant 'one's own', we could say 'one's self' but... mmm... ok let's go with that! Συν (sin) means 'with' and κράση (krasi) means 'a mixture' . So the combination of all the things that make someone themselves. From your personality, to your mannerisms, to the way ...

(intro & piano music)Τύπτω (tipto) in ancient Greek means 'I strike', 'hit' or 'dent' something. In Latin it was 'typus' and meant 'symbol' or 'an emblem'. Around 1713 it moved to meaning 'printed on metal or wood'. Στερεό (stereo) means 'solid' and the combined word in 1804 meant a printing plate, an additional meaning in 1819 was 'to fix something firmly' and lastly in 1953 the word got the meaning we still use today ΣΤΕΡΕΟΤΥΠΟ/ STEREOTYPETwitter @yourgreeksunday , Instagram @emma...

(Intro & piano music)My first job, shortly after I arrived in England, was a stage adaptation of 'Middlemarch', an epic story by George Eliot. The pen name of Mary Ann Evans. As time went by ,I realised that the name I was known for in Greece and had been working for years was too difficult for anyone in this industry to remember so, I decided to keep my first name but officially shorten my surname. In fact if you go to my IMDb you'll see three different versions of my name all of which a...

(Intro & piano music)The history of this word goes back to those considered to be the first European civilisation. There is truth and there is myth connected to the Minoans. A name we know was given to them by the Greeks but have no evidence that, that's what they called themselves. Archaeological discoveries place them in Crete and their first ruler, according to the Greeks, was King Minos (his story and myth are for another episode). The symbol mostly found in the unearthing...

(Intro & piano music)In 3rd century BC there was a biographer of philosophers and author of the history of philosophy, Διογένης Λαέρτιος( Diogenes Laertios) . In his 7th book (out of 10) he begins with a reference to Pythagoras's beliefs on how one should lead their life, one of them being , and I quote: Drunkenness, he considers to be a damage and he disapproves any kind of exaggeration, he says we should have συμμετρία and not overdo it with drinking and eating. Συν (syn), among ot...

(Intro & piano music)Τάσσω (tasso) in an Ancient Greek verb and it means 'I put things in order' . Something that was studied in Ancient Greece was the technique of how to put things in order, how to strategize and make smart decisions to achieve your goal (I know I'm summarising here but this is a bite-size podcast after all) . That technique was called Τακτική τέχνη (taktiki techne) and the word came to English in the 17th century , quite late if you think about how many successful stra...

(Intro & piano music)This sweet word is a combination of Ancient Greek and late Latin. It came into English in the 14th century from the French (of course) who took both both languages, applied the term to baking and quite possibly perfected the flavour. Χρίσμα (chrisma) in Greek means 'unguent' The Latin called it 'cramum' and the French 'crème'. ΧΡΙΣΜΑ/CREAMTwitter @yourgreeksunday , Instagram @emmanuela_lia ,email yourgreeksunday@gmail.com

(Intro & piano music)Today's word has a small journey as it's very straight forward. It has also been reduced to a single meaning in Greek. Αυτό (auto) is short for Εαυτό and it means 'self' . Κράτος (kratos) means 'state' . In Ancient Greece and Rome, the combined word meant , any system of government that was absolute and it included Monarchy, dictatorship and a whole empire. The word came to English through the usual route, Latin and old French and what I find interesting is which poli...

(Intro & piano music) There are two versions of this myth and I chose the one places ancient Turkey and Ancient Greece geologically closer than they are today. The Greek God Ασωπός (Asopos), son of Poseidon, gave his name to a river that ran through central Greece and sprang from another river in Asia Minor. The river Μαίανδρος (Meandros). That river had so many twists and turns that its name is used to describe a very winding flow or way of travel. In modern Greek, the word is used ...

(Intro & piano music)This word came to us from medicine and the metaphorical meaning is what we use today. Χεκτικός (Hektikos), in ancient Greek meant 'continuous'. It was linked to fevers and was a monitoring sign for certain diseases. In English it was used specifically for fever that not only wouldn't stop but go up and down during the course of a day, exhausting the patient. The word came from late Latin 'Hecticus' and nowadays describes a continuously , fast-paced life. ΧΕΚΤΙΚΟΣ/HECT...

(Intro & piano music)Oenanthe Crocata, is a flower with a very sweet taste that grows near lakes in Sardinia. It's also known as 'Sardonion'. Eating it, will cause a state of drunkenness accompanied by laughter, paralyse your jaw, make your face muscles contract as if you're smiling and eventually, kill you. In Greek, it's called 'wine flower' because of its sweetness. Homer used its effects metaphorically to describe Odysseus's laughter and that's how it came to us today. A laughte...

(Intro & piano music)Today's word is so much older than the Valentine celebration and I have to admit I thought it would make a good joke. Δάκτυλος (Daktilos) in ancient Greek and Δάχτυλο (Dahtilo) in modern means, 'finger'. There's a plant that started, probably, in Mesopotamia in 4000BC that both its leaves and fruit resemble a human finger and that's how it got its name. 'Dactylus' in Latin, 'Datil' in old French and from the 1300 onwards in England ΔΑΧΤΥΛΟ/DATETwitter @yourgreek...

(Intro & piano music)Φήμη (feme) was one of Gaia's daughters and sister to Hope, among others. She was responsible for spreading the news of both Godly and Human achievements but if you fell short on her liking then, you could expect all kinds of gossip linked to your name. The Greeks had a temple dedicated to her in the ancient agora in Athens, next to the temple of Pudency. She's usually depicted holding a laurel and a trumpet. In Roman mythology she's called Fama and that's how the wor...

Intro & soft piano musicΠόλις (polis) in both ancient and modern Greek means the 'City' . This is a root word for many more that we'll have a chance to explore in the future. Plato wrote Πολιτεία (politia) around 380BC which was a fictional discussion between the philosophers of the time on what a Just society is, the educational system, the debate between Philosophy and Poetry and many more. It was split in ten books based on subject. The Latin translation is Res Rublica which means, 'th...

Intro & soft piano musicΣυν (syn) is a preposition meaning 'and', 'together'. Θέση (thesi) means 'position' Combining things either naturally or artificially is called ΣΥΝΘΕΣΗTwitter @yourgreeksunday , Instagram @emmanuela_lia ,email yourgreeksunday@gmail.com

Intro & soft piano musicΚεντρί (kendri) in both ancient and modern Greek means the 'Sting' . Because the point of a compass was as sharp and pointy, the mathematician Euclid, named the mark left when drafting a circle, after it. The word came to English from Latin in the late 1400 and kept that spelling. ΚΕΝΤΡΟ/CENTER.Twitter @yourgreeksunday , Instagram @emmanuela_lia ,email yourgreeksunday@gmail.com