7 Greek Words to Add to your Vocabulary
In addition to Latin, Greek is one of the languages that has influenced others around the world immensely. Several English words have originated directly from Greek, making it imperative to know their origin and meaning.
Under mentioned are 7 Greek words, commonly used in our day-to-day verbal and written communication. Next time you hear any of these words, you will know where they came from.
- Acropolis Acro stands for extremity, while polis means city. In short, Acropolis, means cities that are built keeping security purposes in mind. The term Acropolis is usually linked with Greece’s capital Athens, nonetheless it can refer to any citadel, including Jerusalem and Rome.
- Agora In ancient times, the agora was an open marketplace, present in most cities of Greece even today. This word is therefore used for any type of open congregation or assembly. In early Greek history, free-born male landowners/citizens would gather in the agora to perform military duty or to hear statements from the ruling king/council. In later times, the agora also started serving as a marketplace where traders placed stalls or shops for selling their goods amid arcades.
- Anaemia Anaemia is all about a condition resultant of a qualitative or quantitative deficiency of red blood cells. Later on, however, the word started to be used in other contexts too, referring to any deficiency that is at the core of any system or organization.
- Ethos This term has been translated literally from the Greek meaning “accustomed place.” It talks about a disposition or characteristics specific to a particular person, culture or movement. There are several synonyms to this term that include values, mentality and mindset.
- Eureka The word Eureka is used to commemorate a discovery/invention, and it can be translated to “I have found”. This word is the brainchild of the famous Greek mathematician Archimedes. While taking a bath, he all of a sudden realized that the water displaced was equal to the mass of the part of his body he had submerged. He was excited by this discovery and immediately ran out of the house shouting “Eureka!” through the streets of Syracuse. This is how the word Eureka became part and parcel of English language.
- Phobia This word carries several confusions with it. Many people wrongly believe that a phobia refers to a fear. In fact it is much more than this. The word refers to an irrational and exaggerated fear of something. The fear can be associated with activities, situations, things or people.
- Plethora This word represents an undesired abundance. You have a plethora when you go beyond what is required or appropriate in terms of proportion or volume.