>> ZG·Lingua >  >> Applied Linguistics >> Second Language Acquisition

What are some Greek words we still use in English today?

You're right, there are loads of Greek words we use every day! Here are a few examples, categorized for clarity:

General words:

* Auto (from "autos" meaning "self") - automobile, automatic, autobiography

* Cosmos (from "kosmos" meaning "order, universe") - cosmopolitan, cosmic

* Crisis (from "krisis" meaning "decision, turning point") - critical, criticize

* Democracy (from "demos" meaning "people" and "kratos" meaning "power") - democratic, democrat

* Eidos (from "eidos" meaning "form, appearance") - ideology, iconoclast

* Ethos (from "ethos" meaning "character, custom") - ethical, etiquette

* Gymnasium (from "gymnos" meaning "naked") - gym, gymnast

* Helios (from "helios" meaning "sun") - heliocentric, heliotrope

* Kratos (from "kratos" meaning "power") - bureaucracy, aristocracy

* Logos (from "logos" meaning "word, reason") - dialogue, prologue

* Megalos (from "megalos" meaning "great") - megaphone, megalomania

* Mythos (from "mythos" meaning "story") - mythology, mythical

* Oikos (from "oikos" meaning "house, home") - economy, ecology

* Pan (from "pan" meaning "all") - panorama, pandemic

* Psyche (from "psyche" meaning "soul, mind") - psychology, psychiatrist

* Sceptos (from "sceptos" meaning "doubt") - skepticism, sceptic

* Techne (from "techne" meaning "art, skill") - technology, technician

* Theos (from "theos" meaning "god") - theology, atheist

Medical terms:

* Anemia (from "an" meaning "without" and "haima" meaning "blood")

* Arthritis (from "arthron" meaning "joint" and "itis" meaning "inflammation")

* Bronchitis (from "bronchos" meaning "windpipe" and "itis" meaning "inflammation")

* Cardiac (from "kardia" meaning "heart")

* Diagnosis (from "dia" meaning "through" and "gnosis" meaning "knowledge")

* Hepatitis (from "hepar" meaning "liver" and "itis" meaning "inflammation")

* Neural (from "neuron" meaning "nerve")

* Osteoporosis (from "osteon" meaning "bone" and "porosis" meaning "porous")

* Pneumonia (from "pneumon" meaning "lung" and "itis" meaning "inflammation")

Science terms:

* Atom (from "atomos" meaning "indivisible")

* Catalyst (from "kata" meaning "down" and "lyein" meaning "to loose")

* Chromosome (from "chroma" meaning "color" and "soma" meaning "body")

* Dioxide (from "di" meaning "two" and "oxide" meaning "oxygen compound")

* Hypotheses (from "hypo" meaning "under" and "thesis" meaning "placing")

* Mitochondria (from "mitos" meaning "thread" and "chondrion" meaning "granule")

* Nucleus (from "nucleus" meaning "kernel")

* Photosynthesis (from "phos" meaning "light" and "synthesis" meaning "putting together")

* Thermodynamics (from "therme" meaning "heat" and "dynamis" meaning "power")

This is just a small sampling of the many Greek words that have found their way into the English language. The influence of ancient Greek culture is evident in many aspects of our vocabulary and understanding of the world.

Copyright © www.zgghmh.com ZG·Lingua All rights reserved.