[B-Greek] OT - Word Evolution Dictionary

James Ernest j.d.ernest at bc.edu
Mon Feb 16 22:44:07 EST 2009


Ah. For that kind of mnemonic help, don't some of the vocabulary-building
books give English derivatives for the Greek words they introduce? Don't
know which ones, maybe others do. Not Metzger.

Googling "english derivatives of Greek words" yields this list from the
ever-blossoming Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Greek_words_with_English_derivatives

(It can't be complete. Your STOIX- example isn't included.)

And this book:
http://www.aclclassics.org/tmrc/catalog.asp?parent=45&category=1&c

I guess the danger is *faux amis*, as the French say--cases where the
English word means something rather different from the Greek, so that you
get the wrong idea stuck in your heard.

James



On Wed, Feb 11, 2009 at 8:27 AM, Mark Cain <mark at halopest.com> wrote:

> Thanks for putting me in a favorable light in your response. :-)
>
> I find it very useful to know the English usage of a Greek word -
> especially new words.  If I can make a ready association between a new word
> in Greek and any word in English, the new Greek word becomes firmly fixed in
> my mushy mind.
>
> This was recently brought to my attention when the meaning of a word I had
> studied before escaped my memory -- STOICEION.  I wondered if the word had
> been carried over into English usage and upon consulting a dictionary, I
> found stoichiometry which discovery, I believe, will help me in an attempt
> at future recall.
>
> Then I sought such a 'word evolution' source online and finding none, I
> posted the question.
>
> Thanks for your response,
>
>
> Mark Cain
> Sarasota, FL USA
>
>
>
>



More information about the B-Greek mailing list