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Ancient Greek terms worth reviving

classicalwisdom.substack.com

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Re: Ancient Greek terms worth reviving

#171

Post by stavros »

lo_zamoyski wrote: post #67
AlbertCory wrote: post #18

One of my favorite moments at Oracle was when we were on a business trip and had to get ready at 6:00 am (don't ask why). I said, "Ah, the rosy-fingered dawn!" and one guy actually got the reference. ============= This is Latin, not Greek, but =========== Supposedly "Cicero" was pronounced "KICK-er-oo" I don't care. I'm going to keep saying SISS-er-oh.

The pronunciation of Latin will vary depending on whether you're relying on classical (restored/reconstructed) or ecclesiastical pronunciation. "Cicero" in the former is [ˈkɪkɛroː], whereas in the latter, it is [ˈtʃitʃero] which is close to the English pronunciation. In most European languages, the pronunciation is closer to the latter (e.g., the Polish "Cyceron"), while, e.g., in Greek it is closer to the former (Κι…

And in modern Italian it's the latter.

Re: Ancient Greek terms worth reviving

#172

Post by stavros »

rvba wrote: post #123

English could get something shorter than "the day after tomorrow". Dictionaries show that "overmorrow" exists, but it isnt used much. Also it sounds confusing ("over... morrow"). https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?date=now%201-d&geo=...

Greek has "postmorrow".

Re: Ancient Greek terms worth reviving

#173

Post by alfnor »

afunk wrote: post #115

From a fun book I have “Philosophy in 40 Ideas” Eudaimonia THIS IS AN ANCIENT GREEK WORD, normally translated as 'fulfilment', particularly emphasised by the philosopher Aristotle. It deserves wider currency because it corrects the shortfalls in one of the most central terms in our contemporary idiom: happiness. The Ancient Greeks resolutely did not believe that the purpose of life was to be happy; they proposed that…

And a similar word:

"In Ancient Greek philosophy, ataraxia (Greek: ἀταραξία, from "a-", negation and tarachē "disturbance, trouble") is a lucid state of robust equanimity characterized by ongoing freedom from distress and worry. In non-philosophical usage, ataraxia was the ideal mental state for soldiers entering battle. Achieving ataraxia is a common goal for Pyrrhonism, Epicureanism, and Stoicism, but the role and value of ataraxia within each philosophy varies in accordance with their philosophical theories."

Re: Ancient Greek terms worth reviving

#174

Post by pengstrom »

alfnor wrote: post #173
afunk wrote: post #115

From a fun book I have “Philosophy in 40 Ideas” Eudaimonia THIS IS AN ANCIENT GREEK WORD, normally translated as 'fulfilment', particularly emphasised by the philosopher Aristotle. It deserves wider currency because it corrects the shortfalls in one of the most central terms in our contemporary idiom: happiness. The Ancient Greeks resolutely did not believe that the purpose of life was to be happy; they proposed that…

And a similar word: "In Ancient Greek philosophy, ataraxia (Greek: ἀταραξία, from "a-", negation and tarachē "disturbance, trouble") is a lucid state of robust equanimity characterized by ongoing freedom from distress and worry. In non-philosophical usage, ataraxia was the ideal mental state for soldiers entering battle. Achieving ataraxia is a common goal for Pyrrhonism, Epicureanism, and Stoicism, but the role and…

So that's why the anti-anxiety drug is called Atarax.

Re: Ancient Greek terms worth reviving

#176

Post by 4gotunameagain »

jschveibinz wrote: post #130
nologic01 wrote: post #120

While you are at it, consider reviving the term democracy as well. Ancient Greeks didnt just invent it, they thought deeply about all systems of power and their failure modes. Techniques they used feel still a thing from the future for us modern "democrats". For example, take the term ostracism/ostracize . Today the term has degenerated to mean a certain negative cultural phenomenon. For them it was a democratic proc…

Greek democracy was very different, as you suggest. It was not a system of universal suffrage. Only free male citizens with military training (roughly 30% of the population) were permitted to vote. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athenian_democracy

It probably made sense to have only the educated people vote, and not all the elotes as well. The uneducated and stupid are always easily manipulated. See trump being a president of the united states for example. Or bolsonaro. Or erdogan.

Re: Ancient Greek terms worth reviving

#177

Post by fedeb95 »

Ancient greek (and etymology) are very interesting. I'd say ancient languages study is worth reviving, not just specific terms.

Why this matters? In Italy, my country, there is much talking of eliminating a type of high school where ancient greek and latin study is central and carried out through all five years of its duration. People that haven't attended such a school fail to grasp why it may be useful to some (and also some who did, but they're a minority).

For the programmers or aspiring programmers out there: what most shaped my problem solving and bug finding abilities is translating ancient greek and latin in high school. The skill of "reverse engineering" an ancient language is very similar to reverse engineering a (short but difficult) program, for instance.

Re: Ancient Greek terms worth reviving

#179

Post by aitchnyu »

diminikolaou wrote: post #138

For what is worth, most of these words are still being used in modern Greece (I'm Greek).

I want examples of deep words that have become mundane. I'm Indian and thought Cafe Samsara wasn't too deep or pleasant a name, since it just means casual talk in my language.

Re: Ancient Greek terms worth reviving

#180

Post by ilyt »

fedeb95 wrote: post #177

Ancient greek (and etymology) are very interesting. I'd say ancient languages study is worth reviving, not just specific terms. Why this matters? In Italy, my country, there is much talking of eliminating a type of high school where ancient greek and latin study is central and carried out through all five years of its duration. People that haven't attended such a school fail to grasp why it may be useful to some (and…

> For the programmers or aspiring programmers out there: what most shaped my problem solving and bug finding abilities is translating ancient greek and latin in high school. The skill of "reverse engineering" an ancient language is very similar to reverse engineering a (short but difficult) program, for instance.

Or, you know, we could teach that directly instead of using dead language as a proxy for it

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