Avsnitt
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Let me tell you what happens when you're your own producer, editor and, host. You spend a few hours of research and writing your episode then, you get into the booth, do a few takes so you have options, edit everything to an episode you really like and when you're about to save it-at which point you've spend the better part of you afternoon-a message pops up telling you 'that episode already exists' and you remember that you've done that word two years ago! I think it's for the best as the word I found instead, fits perfectly that situation.
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One of the Phrygian gods that arrived in Greece (because they didn't have enough apparently) was the maternal goddess Κυβέλη (Cybele). She was similar to the Geek 'Gaia' and wasn't an instant hit but her myth is attached to Dionysus as she supposedly cured him from his madness so that made her more likable. Fast forward a few years and the Romans are in great distress by war, famine, failed harvest and a meteor shower! They feel the Empire might collapse so , they consult both the Roman and the Greek oracles and they decide to bring Κυβέλη to Rome. They rename her Magna Mater (The Great Mother) and soon after, the famine ends, the war is won and...it's Spring! They celebrated Magna Mater on March 25th, the Spring Equinox, and named that day (which became a whole festival)'Hilaria' from the Greek word for 'Joyous'. ΙΛΑΡΟΣ/HILARIOUS.
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Happy Spring, everyone! The clocks moved, the days are getting bigger and the Sun is gracing us with its presence more often than not.
On the first of April in most parts of the world, it's custom to lie, trick and prank eachother. Do you know why? There are a few theories but the most popular one goes back to 1564 in France. Up until that point , the French celebrated New Year's Day on the 25th of March and the celebrations lasted until the first of April but that year, the King decided to sync with the rest of Europe and changed the celebration to January 1st. Not everyone got the memo immediately so, the ones who kept celebrating in March were teased, pranked and called one name in particular. In ancient Greek, the word for a person not contributing to society because they were unskilled or uneducated translates as ' a private person', one that is not being in sync or engaging with society productively. In Latin, the word escaped the April Fool's custom and that's how it travelled in English. ΙΔΙΩΤΗΣ/IDIOT
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Saknas det avsnitt?
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It's Mother's day here, today, and I hope it's a happy one for all of you. My own Mum is listening from Athens so, Happy Mother's day Mum!
Αρχή (arhi) in both ancient and modern Greek means 'The authority' but also, 'The beginning'. The word for 'Mother' in ancient Greek is 'Μήτηρ' and in modern 'Μητέρα'. Now that's a word that goes back a very long time and although we find it in all Latin based languages, more or less in similar form, Mutter in German, Madre in Italian and Spanish, Mere in French, Mother in English and so on, there hasn't been a western society solely run by women apart from the Amazons. In Indonesia however, and specifically in West Sumatra, the indigenous ethnic group Minangkabau is the largest female led society that we know of with a population of 6.7 million. Do have a read about them when you get some time. The combination of the two words is found for the very first time in English in 1885 in London's literary journal The Athenaeum. ΜΗΤΡΙΑΡΧΙΑ/MATRIARCHY
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Τρία (tria) in both ancient and modern Greek means 'three'. Πτυχή (ptyhi) means 'fold' and a picture you could fold because it was carved or painted in three compartments, was something very common in religious painting during the Middle Ages. However, it goes back much further, to ancient Greece where according to Herodotus in 5th century BC, a wooden frame filled with wax was used for writing. The material has changed since as well as the appliance of the term. Whether in photography, art or music, a three part project that can be seen as one is a ΤΡΙΠΤΥΧΟ/TRIPTYCH
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Before we begin, a shout-out to fellow thespian and loyal listener, David Charles for bringing today's word to my attention. A word with such an interesting and complex history . Thanks David!
Δια (dia) means 'through' or 'across' and Ασπρο (aspro) in modern Greek , means 'white'. And here's the tricky part, 'asper' is the Latin word for 'rough' (hence 'asperity' in English) but it was also used for the shiny coins of small denomination in Greek Byzantium because their engravings were rough. They were called 'aspro'. And because of that, a fabric that was white and bright with patterns woven onto it, was also called 'aspro'; but the Greeks needed distinguish between the coins and the fabrics so they added δια (dia) to the word, which means a fabric with patterns across it. As time went by and white fabrics started being used to clean babies the word went back to Latin as 'diasprum', to the French as 'diapre' -not used anymore- and in English from the Greek ΔΙΑΣΠΡΑ/DIAPERS
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Before we begin, if you haven't listened to last week's news, we have become an affiliate to Audible. If you like listening to podcasts and books go to the description of this episode, click on the word 'Audible' and get your one month, free trial to download any item you like. On with our episode!
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Every ancient culture has a myth about a flood that wipes out humanity. And so did the ancient Greeks. When Zeus decided that humans were corrupt, he sent a flood to drown Greece but he saved two people he thought were worth saving; King Δευκαλιων (Defkalion) and his Queen Πύρρα (Pirra). They built a boat and travelled for nine days until they reached Delphi. There, they asked the oracle how they could rebuild humanity. The oracle said 'you have to cover your faces and throw the mother's intestines behind your backs' , Oh, they both understood, so they covered their faces and started walking, picking up stones from Mother Earth and throwing them behind them. Wherever a stone landed, a human appeared. And so, humanity was saved. Or that's how the myth goes anyway. Κατά (kata) is a preposition meaning 'downward' and κλυζείν (klizin) is the ancient Greek infinitive meaning 'to flood' . The combined word came to English through religious texts from France in the early 1600s. ΚΑΤΑΚΛΥΣΜΟΣ/CATACLYSM
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Happy March, everyone!
At the beginning of the year, I promised to keep this podcast Ad free and find another way to make it a profitable endeavour and today, I'm here to celebrate exactly that!
I would like to welcome our new sponsor, Audible! A place where you can find thousands of audiobooks and download them, for your listening pleasure. Head to the description of this episode, click on the word 'Audible' and get your one month free-trial that you can cancel at anytime. And if you're wondering how this works for me, all the information can be found in the description as well. On with our episode!
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Ακούω (akouo) in Greek means 'I hear'. The noun is ακουστική (akoustiki) and it means 'the audible' . Joseph Sauveur was a mathematician and physicist in the French court, during the enlightenment, and a member of the French Academy of Sciences. He grew up with a hearing and speech impairment and had to often rely on musicians' ears for his results. Among other fascinating subjects he delved into the vibrations of Greek, Roman, Arabic and Persian music to study the correlation between frequency and pitch and in 1701 he presented the results of his research to the Academy. It was then when he coined the term for his new found practice on what the author and librettist, Fontenelle, called 'The discovery of an unknown country' ΑΚΟΥΣΤΙΚΗ/ACOUSTICS
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With the state of our world being what it is , I thought this word is a good fit.
Humphrey Osmond was a British-Canadian researcher and psychiatrist interested in exploring the possibilities of LSD to treat mental illness and substance abuse. He befriended Albert Hoffman (the scientist who discovered LSD) and, Aldous Huxley the author of books like The Doors of perception and Brave new world. Together with Huxley they tried to find a name for the experience of taking LSD and they experimented (full pun intended) by combining several Greek words. In 1957, during a meeting at the New York Academy of Sciences, Osmond used for the first time his new found term to describe his research. Ψυχή (psyche) in both ancient and modern Greek means 'soul' and δήλος (delos) meant 'the visible'. Osmond accompanied the word with this rhyme 'to fathom Hell or soar Angelic/just take a pinch of..' ΨΥΧΕΔΕΛΙΚΟ/PSYCHEDELIC
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Gaia in English and Γαία in Greek, was one of the first Ancient Greek gods and the mother of the world. Her modern name is 'The Earth'. Γραφείν (grafin) is the ancient Greek infinitive of the verb 'Writing'. Although the Babylonians were the first to attempt and draw a map of the world that surrounded them, the Ancient Greeks where the first to mathematically prove the earth is not flat (it really isn't). Eratosthenes, in the the 3rd century BC, made a pretty accurate calculation of the size of he earth and he also put the two greek words together to name the practice of mapping the world. The spelling has changed as the word travelled and it arrived in the English speaking world in the 1500s from France. ΓΕΩΓΡΑΦΙΑ/GEOGRAPHY
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Today's word is another example of a word having originally a wider meaning and getting very specific when attached to a belief. Ορθός (orthos) in both ancient and modern Greek means 'upright' but also 'correct'. Δόξα (doxa) means 'praise' but also 'opinion' and the combined word can mean all of the above. Well...used to. In 1054 AD the religious war in Byzantium, split Christianity in two. The East and the West, The East had a set of doctrines and needed a name to identify themselves and those against the Heretics. So, according to the Eastern church, believing in and praising the correct set of doctrines (that later went on to define eastern Christianity) , would make you an ΟΡΘΟΔΟΞΟΣ/ORTHODOX
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I usually get the question 'Where do you find all these words?' and most times the answer will be 'from all of you'. Whether you 've sent me a word asking if it's Greek that sends me down a rabbit hole and discover four more on the way or I'm having a chat with a friend and we both pause to the sound of a word they've just used and I jot it down for research or even if my friends directly ask 'have you looked that one up?' I guess, after all this time, we have build a system , you and me where you can find me by email or on my social media and suggest, ask or comment freely. Please, keep doing that. I love hearing from you! All the links on how to get in touch are on the description of every episode. Today's word however, falls under a different category. Me, watching television. There's this great series I'm watching and the title is the very word I'm taking about.
Διπλούν (diploun) is an ancient Greek infinitive and it means 'to fold in two'. In modern Greek Διπλό (diplo) means 'double. Yes, that's the same root word. Ancient Greeks didn't use paper but papyrus so, no paper was folded. The Romans however, took that word and applied it to the official, folded in half, document needed to prove you were a Roman citizen, an ID if you like. The word for that document travelled to England in the 1600s and despite the noun and the adjective getting different meanings with time, they both kept their attachment to something official. An official document folded in two is called a ΔΙΠΛΩΜΑ and someone appointed as a representative to a different country is called a ΔΙΠΛΩΜΑΤΗΣ. DIPLOMA and DIPLOMAT.
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There is an ancient fruit that grows in Greece and it's the food that sustained thousands of Greeks, including my grandparents, during the second world war. It's called ΧΑΡΟΥΠΙ (charoupi). In ancient Greek it was called ΚΕΡΑΤΙΟΝ (cerateon) meaning 'little horn' because, it looks like one! The ancient Greeks discovered that the weight of each seed of the fruit never changes so they used it as a measure of weight against precious metals and stones. The Romans used to measure their gold with it as one seed was 1/24th of their gold siliqua coin. They, of course, used the Latin word for it that passed on to the French and came to English in the 15th century but the measure for gold purity remained 24 ΚΑΡΑΤΙ/CARATInstagram @yourgreeksunday ,
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In ancient Athens there were many philosophical schools of thought that one could join. The main philosopher of each school would gather everyone in the Agora (a place under the Acropolis where you can still visit today) and there, they would have their own spot within it, to hold their teachings and debates. One of the most misunderstood philosophical schools today, was formed by Zeno of Citium in 300BC. He'd gather everyone in his Στοά Ποικίλη (stoa pikili)- stoa means 'porch' and pikili in ancient Greek meant 'colourful' . So, a painted porch. In this case depicting the famous battle of Marathon. He would teach, not detachment from emotion as many might think but, moderation in owning material goods, deep thinking before acting, the celebration and caretaking of one's life as there's no afterlife, reason and, inner peace.
Because not everyone had a porch and Zeno's was colourful, the school was named after it. ΣΤΟΙΚΙΣΜΟΣ-STOICISMInstagram @yourgreeksunday ,
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As we're moving into this new year, there's one thing I hope to be able to keep doing both as a human and an actor.
Μετά (meta) in both ancient and modern Greek means 'after'. Μορφή (morfi) means 'shape' . The combined word was first introduced in English in 1447 by Osbern Bokeman, an English poet and friar who travelled to Italy a lot. The word in Latin sounds exactly the same as the Greek but the spelling is Latinised and it means 'the process of becoming something new', 'constantly changing', 'transforming', 'reshaping' .
ΜΕΤΑΜΟΡΦΩΣΗ/METAMORPHOSISInstagram @yourgreeksunday ,
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Happy New Year, Everyone!
The oldest and the most elegant of the muses-according to Hesiod and Ovid- was Calliope. Her name meaning 'beautiful voice'. She was the mother of Orpheus and she presides over song, dance and epic poetry. Επος (epos) in Ancient Greek meant a tale, a story and a poem about heroic acts was called Επικο (epiko) . The word came to English in two parts. In 1580 it started being used as a 'long poem' regardless of content and in 1731 was used as the Greeks intended, the praising of heroic acts like The Odyssey or The Iliad.
May this year be full of new memories that will lead to amazing stories. ΕΠΙΚΟ/EPICInstagram @yourgreeksunday ,
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Hello everyone!
As the end of 2024 approaches, I'd like to take a minute to thank each and every one of you for the love and support you've shown for this podcast. I intend to keep your minute of knowledge ad free and try and find other ways to make this a profitable endeavour. In the meantime, there is a way you can help. Share this podcast. Far and wide. Post your favourite episode on social media, tell your friends, write a review, play an episode on speakers on the train. No, don't do that! Just share the joy of learning. You can also send me your comments, questions or thoughts about anything you've heard on this podcast to [email protected] or, follow me on Instagram and Blue Sky @yourgreeksunday and leave a comment there.
Have a wonderful New Year's Eve and I'll be back on January 5th with a bright new word!Instagram @yourgreeksunday ,
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Merry Christmas to those of you celebrating and, have a restful week ahead to those of you who don't. This is a spice that has travelled far and wide . Once a present fit for Kings or an offering to the Gods; It's referenced in most ancient religions as 'Precious'. In Greece it arrived form the Phoenicians and as far as we know the very first reference in Ancient Greek was in a poem by Sappho in 7th century BC. In Ancient Rome it was one of the most expensive spices, just 327 grams of it, cost a ten month salary! There were many myths in the ancient world about its origin. From the bottom of the Nile to plants guarded by dragons it arrived in England after the East India company took control of its trade in 1767 and the name came through the Latin and French but based in the Ancient Greek one ΚΙΝΝΑΜΩΜΟΝ/CINNAMONInstagram @yourgreeksunday ,
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It's getting a little festive in some parts of the world so, I thought of giving you a word that describes one of my favourite festive traditions. Χάρτης (Chartis) in ancient Greek and Χαρτί (charti) in modern, means paper. The word came to English in the 15th century through Latin: Carta then French: Carte and in old English the name for a piece of paper you could play games with. The meaning of a stamped paper that you could write on and post to people, is from 1870 and a little earlier 1862 we find the same word to describe writing and sending wishes for special occasions on a ΧΑΡΤΙ/CARD.Instagram @yourgreeksunday ,
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Τηλέ (tele) is an Ancient Greek adverb meaning ‘far away’. Φωνή (phone) in both ancient and modern Greek means voice . In 1835 a system of conveying words to a distant point by means of musical notes, was invented by the French composer Jean Francois Sudre. For obvious reasons it wasn’t very practical. The combination of Greek words that was used to describe it however, carried on into foghorns signalling from ship to ship. That didn’t stick either. Then on March 7th 1876 Alexander Graham Bell used the combination of the words for one last time when he submitted his invention of a ΤΗΛΕΦΩΝΟ /TELEPHONEInstagram @yourgreeksunday ,
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I think this might be a tricky one if you're learning Greek at the moment so, I'd definitely recommend reading the transcript for the spelling because, if you rely on listening to this, you will get confused. If you're not learning Greek and just enjoying a minute of knowledge, you'll be fine without reading ;unless of course you want to! This is a combined word where the second component is an -ology. An easy way to remember what -ologies do is that they make the first word an expert. Ετυμος (etymos) is an ancient greek word that is not used anymore by itself. It meant 'The true one', 'The original'. The combined word means 'the expert study of the original' and it came to English through Latin and French in the 14th century. It is used for language and tracing back words to their original meaning . Pretty much what this podcast does. ΕΤΥΜΟΛΟΓΙΑ/ETYMOLOGYInstagram @yourgreeksunday ,
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