Geek-time: I love words

In my family, discussing the roots of words is our equivalent of a normal family’s game of Christmas charades. This is because I have two fiercely patriotic Greek parents, who, despite living in London for most of their lives, still hold true to the belief that Greeks Invented Everything. So I thought I’d compile a little list of the wonderful way that so many of our English words have developed, crossed boundaries, and adapted, in a geeky bid to make people more aware of the beauty of words:

Ostracize

From the Greek ostrakos, meaning oyster. In Ancient Greece people would vote by making a mark on an empty oyster shell. Taking away someone’s oyster shell, ostrakismos, meant taking away their power to vote, thus eliminating them from society. To alienate someone from society or a community is thus, to OSTRACISE them.

Focus

From the Italian word fuoco meaning fire. A fire was the centre of the house, hence the FOCUS.

Disastrous

Again from Greek. Dis means without; Astro means stars. Someone who is without stars, has no fate, no destiny and is thus DISASTEROUS.

Sinister

From Italian, sinistra meaning left. The left has always had connotations of otherness- in theatre for example, the ‘evil’ characters would typically enter from stage left, hence, SINSITER.

Hermaphrodite

From Ancient Greek mythology. Hermaphroditus was the son of the God and Goddess Hermes and Aphrodite. In Ovid’s Metamorphoses, his lover Salamacis loved him so deeply that she prayed for total unity with him, thus combining male and female characteristics and thus, HERMAPHRODITE.

Schizophrenia

From the Greek schizo, meaning I tear, I break, and phrena, meaning brakes. An illness defined by an unnatural duality, and an inability to control this, to brake , thus SCHIZOPHRENIA

Camera

Back in the day camera’s required a darkened space to work, a room for example, thus the Italian word for room, CAMERA

Window

From the middle English windeye, which I came across whilst reading Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (fun). Literally an ‘eye’ for the wind to come through, hence WINDOW

Icicles

The middle English word for icicles is issyiccles. How cute?

N.B. As ever, I am open to corrections/further suggestions...