{"id":118,"date":"2016-08-01T19:55:57","date_gmt":"2016-08-01T23:55:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greeklatinroots2\/?post_type=chapter&p=118"},"modified":"2016-12-05T20:37:04","modified_gmt":"2016-12-06T01:37:04","slug":"%c2%a7137-interesting-words","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greeklatinroots2\/chapter\/%c2%a7137-interesting-words\/","title":{"raw":"\u00a7137. Interesting Words","rendered":"\u00a7137. Interesting Words"},"content":{"raw":"

The word euphemism<\/i> appeared in Chapter 1 (\u00a75<\/a>) of this course. Its form is excellent Greek: \u03b5\u1f50-\u03c6\u03b7\u03bc-\u03b9\u03c3\u03bc\u03bf\u03c2, \u201can act of speaking well.\u201d (There was an ancient Greek adjective \u03b5\u1f50\u03c6\u03b7\u03bc\u03bf\u03c2, which meant using only words of good omen.) Our society invents euphemisms in order to soften unpleasant or distasteful facts\u2014or even to hide them completely. If it is too painful to say that a beloved parent has \u201cdied,\u201d then he or she has \u201cpassed away.\u201d Bodily functions are obvious candidates for euphemistic treatment; even in a forest wilderness, many people will still speak of \u201cgoing to the bathroom.\u201d Bureaucrats couldn\u2019t survive without these tools of camouflage. When the B.C. Government announced a new policy of park management several years ago, citizens were astounded to discover that \u201crecreation area\u201d meant a park zone where mining would be encouraged. There are vigilant word-lovers who devote all their energies to collecting and documenting new gems of this kind. An all-time classic emerged from the Gulf War of 1991\u2014\u201ccollateral damage\u201d for \u201ccivilian deaths.\u201d As writers from Thucydides to Orwell have observed, plain truth is the first casualty of war.<\/p>\r\n

Far less familiar is the opposite term, dysphemism<\/i>. Just as it may be genteel to say that someone has \u201cpassed away,\u201d so too can we brutalize the event by saying that the person \u201ccroaked\u201d or \u201ckicked the bucket.\u201d The sex act is given dignity by the euphemism \u201cmake love,\u201d but it is hardly ennobled by the dysphemism \u201cscrew.\u201d Street language has many dysphemisms; in Cockney rhyming slang, a man\u2019s wife is her husband\u2019s \u201ctrouble and strife.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

You have probably noticed that the Greek root pha<\/b>- (\u03c6\u03b1-) is common to two different verbs, meaning \u201cspeak\u201d and \u201cshow.\u201d In English, aphasia<\/i> (\u1f00-\u03c6\u03b1\u03c3-\u03b9\u03b1) is inability to speak, whereas a phase<\/i> (\u03c6\u03b1\u03c3-\u03b9\u03c2) of the moon is one of its appearances. One might suppose that emphasis<\/i> (\u1f10\u03bc-\u03c6\u03b1\u03c3-\u03b9\u03c2) was related to speaking, but it was originally a rhetorical means of showing or indicating. Fortunately, the other roots of these two verbs can\u2019t be confused; for instance, that wonderful word diaphanous <\/i>has (dare we say it?) a \u201ctransparent\u201d etymology. In the annals of British Columbia politics, the saga of Fantasy<\/i> Gardens was a fantastic<\/i> phenomenon<\/i>.[footnote] Our word phenomenon<\/em> is derived from \u03c6\u03b1\u03b9\u03bd\u03bf\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03bf\u03bd (\u201csomething appearing\u201d), a present participle of \u03c6\u03b1\u03b9\u03bd\u03b5\u03b9\u03bd. Although the \u03b1\u03b9 diphthong became Latinized and then reduced to e<\/em>, the Greek neuter ending survived. Thus the correct plural form is, of course, phenomena<\/em>.[\/footnote] Check out the words phantasmagoria<\/i> and sycophant<\/i>; the last has the weird and obscure etymological meaning of \u201cfig-shower.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

A complex of fascinating words has evolved from Greek \u03b2\u03b1\u03bb\u03bb\u03b5\u03b9\u03bd, \u201cto throw,\u201d which has the roots ball<\/b>-, bol-,<\/b> and bl<\/b>\u0113<\/strong>-. A problem<\/i> (\u03c0\u03c1\u03bf-\u03b2\u03bb\u03b7-\u03bc\u03b1) is something \u201cthrown forward\u201d (a Latin project<\/i>, perhaps?). Hyperbole<\/i> and hyperbola<\/i> are rhetorical and mathematical doublets that suggest \u201ca throwing above.\u201d Two other doublets are parabola<\/i> and parable<\/i>\u2014both derived from \u03c0\u03b1\u03c1\u03b1\u03b2\u03bf\u03bb\u03b7, \u201ca throwing beside,\u201d \u201ca comparison.\u201d By a strange semantic development, the Late Latin adaptation parabola<\/b> acquired the meaning \u201cword,\u201d and its denominative verb parabolare<\/b>, the meaning \u201ctalk.\u201d Here is the source of French parole<\/i> and parler<\/i>, and of English parlor, parley, <\/i>and parliament<\/i>. The verb \u03b4\u03b9\u03b1\u03b2\u03b1\u03bb\u03bb\u03b5\u03b9\u03bd (literally, \u201cthrow across\u201d) suggested hurling slander or abuse; and the noun \u201cSlanderer\u201d\u2014\u03b4\u03b9\u03b1\u03b2\u03bf\u03bb\u03bf\u03c2 (L diabolus<\/b>)\u2014became eventually the Devil<\/i> (cf. diabolical<\/i>). Those who are cynical about the parliamentary process may be pleased to learn that Old Nick is a linguistic cousin of every M.P in Ottawa.<\/p>","rendered":"

The word euphemism<\/i> appeared in Chapter 1 (\u00a75<\/a>) of this course. Its form is excellent Greek: \u03b5\u1f50-\u03c6\u03b7\u03bc-\u03b9\u03c3\u03bc\u03bf\u03c2, \u201can act of speaking well.\u201d (There was an ancient Greek adjective \u03b5\u1f50\u03c6\u03b7\u03bc\u03bf\u03c2, which meant using only words of good omen.) Our society invents euphemisms in order to soften unpleasant or distasteful facts\u2014or even to hide them completely. If it is too painful to say that a beloved parent has \u201cdied,\u201d then he or she has \u201cpassed away.\u201d Bodily functions are obvious candidates for euphemistic treatment; even in a forest wilderness, many people will still speak of \u201cgoing to the bathroom.\u201d Bureaucrats couldn\u2019t survive without these tools of camouflage. When the B.C. Government announced a new policy of park management several years ago, citizens were astounded to discover that \u201crecreation area\u201d meant a park zone where mining would be encouraged. There are vigilant word-lovers who devote all their energies to collecting and documenting new gems of this kind. An all-time classic emerged from the Gulf War of 1991\u2014\u201ccollateral damage\u201d for \u201ccivilian deaths.\u201d As writers from Thucydides to Orwell have observed, plain truth is the first casualty of war.<\/p>\n

Far less familiar is the opposite term, dysphemism<\/i>. Just as it may be genteel to say that someone has \u201cpassed away,\u201d so too can we brutalize the event by saying that the person \u201ccroaked\u201d or \u201ckicked the bucket.\u201d The sex act is given dignity by the euphemism \u201cmake love,\u201d but it is hardly ennobled by the dysphemism \u201cscrew.\u201d Street language has many dysphemisms; in Cockney rhyming slang, a man\u2019s wife is her husband\u2019s \u201ctrouble and strife.\u201d<\/p>\n

You have probably noticed that the Greek root pha<\/b>– (\u03c6\u03b1-) is common to two different verbs, meaning \u201cspeak\u201d and \u201cshow.\u201d In English, aphasia<\/i> (\u1f00-\u03c6\u03b1\u03c3-\u03b9\u03b1) is inability to speak, whereas a phase<\/i> (\u03c6\u03b1\u03c3-\u03b9\u03c2) of the moon is one of its appearances. One might suppose that emphasis<\/i> (\u1f10\u03bc-\u03c6\u03b1\u03c3-\u03b9\u03c2) was related to speaking, but it was originally a rhetorical means of showing or indicating. Fortunately, the other roots of these two verbs can\u2019t be confused; for instance, that wonderful word diaphanous <\/i>has (dare we say it?) a \u201ctransparent\u201d etymology. In the annals of British Columbia politics, the saga of Fantasy<\/i> Gardens was a fantastic<\/i> phenomenon<\/i>.[1]<\/sup><\/a> Check out the words phantasmagoria<\/i> and sycophant<\/i>; the last has the weird and obscure etymological meaning of \u201cfig-shower.\u201d<\/p>\n

A complex of fascinating words has evolved from Greek \u03b2\u03b1\u03bb\u03bb\u03b5\u03b9\u03bd, \u201cto throw,\u201d which has the roots ball<\/b>-, bol-,<\/b> and bl<\/b>\u0113<\/strong>-. A problem<\/i> (\u03c0\u03c1\u03bf-\u03b2\u03bb\u03b7-\u03bc\u03b1) is something \u201cthrown forward\u201d (a Latin project<\/i>, perhaps?). Hyperbole<\/i> and hyperbola<\/i> are rhetorical and mathematical doublets that suggest \u201ca throwing above.\u201d Two other doublets are parabola<\/i> and parable<\/i>\u2014both derived from \u03c0\u03b1\u03c1\u03b1\u03b2\u03bf\u03bb\u03b7, \u201ca throwing beside,\u201d \u201ca comparison.\u201d By a strange semantic development, the Late Latin adaptation parabola<\/b> acquired the meaning \u201cword,\u201d and its denominative verb parabolare<\/b>, the meaning \u201ctalk.\u201d Here is the source of French parole<\/i> and parler<\/i>, and of English parlor, parley, <\/i>and parliament<\/i>. The verb \u03b4\u03b9\u03b1\u03b2\u03b1\u03bb\u03bb\u03b5\u03b9\u03bd (literally, \u201cthrow across\u201d) suggested hurling slander or abuse; and the noun \u201cSlanderer\u201d\u2014\u03b4\u03b9\u03b1\u03b2\u03bf\u03bb\u03bf\u03c2 (L diabolus<\/b>)\u2014became eventually the Devil<\/i> (cf. diabolical<\/i>). Those who are cynical about the parliamentary process may be pleased to learn that Old Nick is a linguistic cousin of every M.P in Ottawa.<\/p>\n

  1. Our word phenomenon<\/em> is derived from \u03c6\u03b1\u03b9\u03bd\u03bf\u03bc\u03b5\u03bd\u03bf\u03bd (\u201csomething appearing\u201d), a present participle of \u03c6\u03b1\u03b9\u03bd\u03b5\u03b9\u03bd. Although the \u03b1\u03b9 diphthong became Latinized and then reduced to e<\/em>, the Greek neuter ending survived. Thus the correct plural form is, of course, phenomena<\/em>. ↵<\/a><\/li><\/ol><\/div>","protected":false},"author":20,"menu_order":4,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"Chapter 22: Greek Verbs and their Derivatives","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[52],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-118","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry","chapter-type-numberless"],"part":111,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greeklatinroots2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/118","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greeklatinroots2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greeklatinroots2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greeklatinroots2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greeklatinroots2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/118\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":544,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greeklatinroots2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/118\/revisions\/544"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greeklatinroots2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/111"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greeklatinroots2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/118\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greeklatinroots2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=118"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greeklatinroots2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=118"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greeklatinroots2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=118"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greeklatinroots2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=118"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}