Your Greek Word On A Sunday

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In the first few lines of Prometheus Bound by Aeschylus, we hear, for the first time ever, the word that marked the Titan's fate. His love for humanity made him steal, and gift u…

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This, is another combined, greek word that was made up by a non-Greek. It was the philosopher and humanist Thomas More this time, and he used it to entitle his book, in 1516, abo…

Before we begin today, I'd like to remind you of our email address [email protected] where you can send your questions, ideas or comments about anything you hear in this podcast. Here we go!

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Αγω (ago) in both ancient and modern Greek means, 'I draw out', 'I bring forth'. Αγώνας (agonas) means 'a race' and metaphorically 'a struggle'. From Greek, to Latin, to French, …

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Φαίνειν (phainin) is an ancient Greek infinitive. The verb is Φαίνομαι (phaenome) and it means 'I show', I appear' . The noun came to English from Latin around 1660 and it was in…

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Κρίνω (crino) , is an ancient Greek verb, the noun is κρίση (crisi) and the adjective κριτική (critiki) All three have a double meaning and from all three derive many words used …

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Greeks have been using this word widely for a very long time but in English it was used only as a biology term until the 1920's. Συν (syn) means 'with' and Βίος (vios) means 'lif…

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What do Okras, Euclid, and a south Korean boy band have in common? Well, πέντε (pendae) in Greek means 'five' and γωνία (gonia) means 'corner'. The combined word was given to thi…

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Welcome to our 200th episode! This feels like a very weird time to celebrate, especially when the rescue teams in Turkey and Syria are making superhuman efforts. Do donate if you…

Before we begin today, I want to remind you to download this or any episode you might like; or if you listen frequently then why not slide that button across and get all new episodes automatically do…

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This word has changed very little in its travels and it took the common route arriving here. Greek, Latin, French and in the 1600 across the English channel. Πρώτο (proto) in bot…

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Μονός (monos) in modern Greek means 'single' and τόνος(tonos) means -among other things- a musical 'note'. Something odd happened in 1706, the combined word that travelled from F…

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This is a Greek word that wasn't invented by the Greeks! Sir David Brewster, was a Scottish physicist known for his work in optics and polarized light. In 1817, he patented his r…

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Any New Year's resolutions yet? Well, in Ancient Greek, 'Σχέδη' (Schedi) meant papyrus leaf-also known as writing material-. In modern , it means both plan and sketch. The outlin…

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Happy New Year everyone! 
Here's a little myth of strength and beauty to kickstart the month. The Ancient Greeks believed there was a creature born way before the gods that held a…

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Merry Christmas, everyone celebrating and have a wonderful Sunday, those of you who don't. Πολώ is an ancient Greek verb for 'I turn' , 'I pivot' . In the beginning, it was main…

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Today, I'll be telling you about two Greek words. One was invented by the Greeks and the other by the Swiss psychologist Carl Jung. Συν (syn) means' with', 'and', 'additionally'.…

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Nowadays, in order to describe something we don't understand, we make a reference to a difficult language for us. The English say 'It's all Greek to me', the Greeks say 'It's all…

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Σκέπτομαι (skeptome) in Ancient Greek and Σκέφτομαι (skeftome) in modern, means
 ' I think' . The noun is Σκέψη (skepsi). In Ancient Greece, being a Σκεπτικιστής (skeptikistis) m…

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Τέμνω (temno) in Greek means 'I cut', the noun is Τομή (tomi). Δυο (dio) means 'two' and when combined it becomes Διχο-(dicho). The combined word came into English from Latin and…