What they call out as "phronesis" I've previously seen by a different, but presumably related name
Ancient Greek terms worth reviving
21–30 of 247 posts
Re: Ancient Greek terms worth reviving
#22In this age of social media, the word sophrosyne should be revived.
Re: Ancient Greek terms worth reviving
#23I have been several times confused by the word "arete" - because in French (arête) it's a kind of rock formation and has been taken up by the rock climbing community, and in Greek (ἀρετή) it's "excellence." There's a coffee shop near me, attached to and co-operated by a climbing gear store, called arête. The proximity to the climbing store suggests one interpretation, but it is an excellent coffee shop.
Interestingly, thesaurus.com lists arete as an English word that is a synonym for excellence. But when you look up that word, it gives crag and crest as synonyms.
This is because it's stripping the circumflex accent somewhere. English dictionaries list arête.
According to good old etymonline.com (thank you, Douglas!) the unaccented form exists in English, as well as the separate word of Greek origin:
https://www.etymonline.com/search?q=arete
A similar situation exists with the word parity which has two entirely different meanings: "number of pregnancies" (where the word shares etymology with parent and parentage) or equal status, from Latin paritas.
This ultimately traces back to a homonym in Proto Indo-European:
https://www.etymonline.com/word/*pere-
The number-of-pregancies parity traces back to (1) and "even parity; reaching parity" to (2).
One parity traces back
Re: Ancient Greek terms worth reviving
#24Given the rise of AI, I think "enchiridion" might be a good one to start using, based on Stephenson's Diamond Age.
> From Ancient Greek ἐγχειρίδιον (enkheirídion), from ἐν (en, “in”) + χείρ (kheír, “hand”) + a neuter suffix.
And given how news, media, entertainment and politics always gravitates towards the least common denominator of knowledge and education forcing the rest of us to deal with both demagogues and TV shows about wealthy housewives, "ochlocracy" (mob rule) is another that needs a revival.
> From Middle French ochlocratie, from Ancient Greek ὀχλοκρατία (okhlokratía), from ὄχλος (ókhlos, “multitude, crowd”) + κράτος (krátos, “power”).
Re: Ancient Greek terms worth reviving
#25These are great suggestions. Adding these words to your own internal vocabulary is totally worth it for self-reflection.
Less seriously, a grammatical construction I wish we had in English is the Latin future passive participle, typically ending in -ndus, -nda, -ndum. It means that something needs/ought to be done.
For instance "Amanda" is "she who must be loved."
So if someone asks you why your feature isn't in production yet, you can say the pull request is reviewandum.
Or you can tell the kids that the trash is emptianda, or the dog is walkandus.
These are kind of lame examples, but once you get the idea you can find places where it'd be convenient several times a day.
Re: Ancient Greek terms worth reviving
#26[flagged]
The cruelty of conservatives'methods and rhetoric is what makes them clearly xenophobic.
Re: Ancient Greek terms worth reviving
#27Xenia is what the Xen hypervisor is named after.
Re: Ancient Greek terms worth reviving
#28I have been several times confused by the word "arete" - because in French (arête) it's a kind of rock formation and has been taken up by the rock climbing community, and in Greek (ἀρετή) it's "excellence." There's a coffee shop near me, attached to and co-operated by a climbing gear store, called arête. The proximity to the climbing store suggests one interpretation, but it is an excellent coffee shop.
arêter is a common verb in French that means to stop . It is a cognate of to arrest . The ê before the t is evidence betraying the disappearance of a historic s , which is still present in English cognates: hôpital -> hospital forêt -> forest The word arête means edge , similar to bord . Not every bord is an arête ; only some protruding ridge or sharp edge. It seems to be used for geological ridges, like mountain cre…
arrêter*
Re: Ancient Greek terms worth reviving
#29Xenia plays a very important role in both the Iliad and the Odyssey. The idea of obligations running in both directions makes it a much richer concept than simple “hospitality.”
That sounds very interesting. What were these obligations?
Xenia is all about the relationship between the host and guest. Both parties are expected to be well-behaved and generous in their interaction. There was also an expectation that such kindeness should be returned if the opposite situation were ever to arrive. The concept was also inter-generational, with family lines maintaining a mutual bond created through reciprocal hospitality of each other. In book 6 of the Iliad we see Diomedes and Glacaus have an interaction which makes them realise their family has a history of xenia going back multiple generations which instantly prompts a bond and an exhange of armour in a symbloic gesture of mutual trust and comradery.
These obligations seemed to be very important to the culture at the time. So much so that it was considered the domain of Zeus (Zeus Xenios) to protect strangers seeking shelter. There are plenty of examples in myth of people breaking the sanctity of xenia and receiving divine punishment for it.
Re: Ancient Greek terms worth reviving
#30I've always liked "akrasia" https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akrasia > Weakness of will to act against one's own better judgement. It's everywhere in modern society, and I'd love to see it called out more.
It's called out quite a lot, just not literally with the word akrasia. When it is called out, you're being "judgemental" or restricting someone's freedom/autonomy, which is of course sacrosanct to moderns.