{"id":58,"date":"2016-08-01T19:24:25","date_gmt":"2016-08-01T23:24:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greeklatinroots2\/?post_type=chapter&p=58"},"modified":"2016-12-05T18:31:40","modified_gmt":"2016-12-05T23:31:40","slug":"%c2%a7109-general-principles-of-greek-compounds","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greeklatinroots2\/chapter\/%c2%a7109-general-principles-of-greek-compounds\/","title":{"raw":"\u00a7109. General Principles of Greek Compounds","rendered":"\u00a7109. General Principles of Greek Compounds"},"content":{"raw":"

Before reading this chapter, you may wish to review Part I, \u00a791<\/a> and \u00a792<\/a>, where compound words were first introduced in the Latin section of our course.<\/p>\r\n

The fact that we are dealing with Greek compounds at such an early stage is a signal of their greater importance in English vocabulary, relative to Latin. English words that contain two separate Latin bases (deification<\/i>, manufacture<\/i>, carnivora, <\/i>etc.) represent only a small fraction of the thousands of Latin derivatives in our language. However, English words with multiple Greek bases probably comprise our largest category of Greek derivatives. The Greek language itself was unusually rich in compounds, and those who have turned to Greek for modern borrowings have exploited that word-building capacity. Greek compounds are especially prominent in the technical language of biology, medicine, and other scientific disciplines. They may combine various parts of speech: noun + noun, adjective + noun, noun + verb, etc. Perhaps you already know the etymological meanings for many of these compounds\u2014words like dermatology<\/i>, democracy<\/i>, or pyromania<\/i>; but you may need a little help with examples such as rhododendron<\/i> or nephrolithotomy<\/i>.<\/p>\r\n

One important principle to notice is the use of the CONNECTING VOWEL omicron (\u03bf = English o<\/i>), which is as much the norm in Greek as the connecting vowel -i-<\/b> is the rule in Latin. Notice the role of this connecting vowel o<\/i> to link the base elements in the Greek compounds just mentioned:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
dermatology<\/i><\/span><\/b><\/td>\r\ndermat-o-logy<\/b><\/td>\r\n\u201cstudy of the skin\u201d<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
democracy<\/i><\/span><\/b><\/td>\r\ndem-o-cracy<\/b><\/td>\r\n\u201cgovernment by the people\u201d<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
pyromania<\/i><\/span><\/b><\/td>\r\npyr-o-mania<\/b><\/td>\r\n\u201cfire madness\u201d<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
rhododendron<\/i><\/span><\/b><\/td>\r\nrhod-o-dendron<\/b><\/td>\r\n\u201crose tree\u201d<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
nephrolithotomy<\/i><\/span><\/b><\/td>\r\nnephr-o-lith-o-tomy<\/b><\/td>\r\n\u201ccutting (removal) of kidney stones\u201d<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n

The connecting vowel is present for reasons of euphony: it is needed to permit a smooth phonetic transition from one base to the next. It is not required, therefore, when the second base begins with a vowel, as in the word hierarchy<\/i> (hier-archy<\/b>, \u201csacred rule\u201d). Also there are some words where (for various reasons) the final vowel of the first word-base is retained; a good example is agoraphobia<\/i> (agora-phobia<\/b>, \u201cfear of the market-place\u201d). The final -e<\/i> (epsilon) of the adverb \u03c4\u03b7\u03bb\u03b5 (t<\/b>\u0113<\/strong>le<\/b>, \u201cfar,\u201d \u201cfar off\u201d) is kept in compounds like tele-phone <\/i>(\u201cfar voice\u201d), tele-pathy<\/i> (\u201cfar feeling\u201d), and the Greek-Latin hybrid tele-vision <\/i>(\u201csight from afar\u201d).<\/p>\r\n

The hyphenated word-divisions in the last paragraph represent a very simple method of compound WORD ANALYSIS. Probably the most important step in understanding the structure of these Greek compound derivatives is getting the hyphens in the right place.[footnote]In normal usage, we use the hyphen to divide a word into syllables; here we are dividing the word into morphological components. Don't confuse the two procedures.[\/footnote] That isn\u2019t always as easy as it may seem. Because you know that \u03b2\u03b9\u03bf\u03c2 means \u201clife,\u201d you may be tempted to assume that biology<\/i> can be analysed as bio-logy<\/b>, \u201cthe study of life.\u201d However, the 2nd declension noun \u03b2\u03b9\u03bf\u03c2 loses its -\u03bf\u03c2 ending in yielding the base \u03b2\u03b9-; and therefore the English compound should be divided as bi-o-logy<\/b>. That is the reason why zoology<\/i> (z<\/b>\u014d<\/strong>-o-logy<\/b>) ought not to be pronounced \u201czoo-ology.\u201d Sometimes the division points in a Greek compound can be very surprising. If you asked a random group of intelligent people to divide the word helicopter<\/i> into its elements, most of them would probably assume it was a heli-copter<\/b>, whatever that meant\u2014a \u201csun-beater,\u201d maybe? In fact, this Greek compound derivative is a helic-o-pter<\/b>, a \u201cspiral wing\u201d (from \u1f11\u03bb\u03b9\u03be, \u1f11\u03bb\u03b9\u03ba-\u03bf\u03c2, \u201cspiral,\u201d the connecting vowel omicron, and \u03c0\u03c4\u03b5\u03c1\u03bf\u03bd, \u201cwing\u201d). It was a precise and ideal name for that type of aircraft; amazingly enough, the word came into English way back in 1872, via the French h\u00e9licopt\u00e8re<\/em>.<\/p>","rendered":"

Before reading this chapter, you may wish to review Part I, \u00a791<\/a> and \u00a792<\/a>, where compound words were first introduced in the Latin section of our course.<\/p>\n

The fact that we are dealing with Greek compounds at such an early stage is a signal of their greater importance in English vocabulary, relative to Latin. English words that contain two separate Latin bases (deification<\/i>, manufacture<\/i>, carnivora, <\/i>etc.) represent only a small fraction of the thousands of Latin derivatives in our language. However, English words with multiple Greek bases probably comprise our largest category of Greek derivatives. The Greek language itself was unusually rich in compounds, and those who have turned to Greek for modern borrowings have exploited that word-building capacity. Greek compounds are especially prominent in the technical language of biology, medicine, and other scientific disciplines. They may combine various parts of speech: noun + noun, adjective + noun, noun + verb, etc. Perhaps you already know the etymological meanings for many of these compounds\u2014words like dermatology<\/i>, democracy<\/i>, or pyromania<\/i>; but you may need a little help with examples such as rhododendron<\/i> or nephrolithotomy<\/i>.<\/p>\n

One important principle to notice is the use of the CONNECTING VOWEL omicron (\u03bf = English o<\/i>), which is as much the norm in Greek as the connecting vowel -i-<\/b> is the rule in Latin. Notice the role of this connecting vowel o<\/i> to link the base elements in the Greek compounds just mentioned:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
dermatology<\/i><\/span><\/b><\/td>\ndermat-o-logy<\/b><\/td>\n\u201cstudy of the skin\u201d<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
democracy<\/i><\/span><\/b><\/td>\ndem-o-cracy<\/b><\/td>\n\u201cgovernment by the people\u201d<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
pyromania<\/i><\/span><\/b><\/td>\npyr-o-mania<\/b><\/td>\n\u201cfire madness\u201d<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
rhododendron<\/i><\/span><\/b><\/td>\nrhod-o-dendron<\/b><\/td>\n\u201crose tree\u201d<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
nephrolithotomy<\/i><\/span><\/b><\/td>\nnephr-o-lith-o-tomy<\/b><\/td>\n\u201ccutting (removal) of kidney stones\u201d<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

The connecting vowel is present for reasons of euphony: it is needed to permit a smooth phonetic transition from one base to the next. It is not required, therefore, when the second base begins with a vowel, as in the word hierarchy<\/i> (hier-archy<\/b>, \u201csacred rule\u201d). Also there are some words where (for various reasons) the final vowel of the first word-base is retained; a good example is agoraphobia<\/i> (agora-phobia<\/b>, \u201cfear of the market-place\u201d). The final -e<\/i> (epsilon) of the adverb \u03c4\u03b7\u03bb\u03b5 (t<\/b>\u0113<\/strong>le<\/b>, \u201cfar,\u201d \u201cfar off\u201d) is kept in compounds like tele-phone <\/i>(\u201cfar voice\u201d), tele-pathy<\/i> (\u201cfar feeling\u201d), and the Greek-Latin hybrid tele-vision <\/i>(\u201csight from afar\u201d).<\/p>\n

The hyphenated word-divisions in the last paragraph represent a very simple method of compound WORD ANALYSIS. Probably the most important step in understanding the structure of these Greek compound derivatives is getting the hyphens in the right place.[1]<\/sup><\/a> That isn\u2019t always as easy as it may seem. Because you know that \u03b2\u03b9\u03bf\u03c2 means \u201clife,\u201d you may be tempted to assume that biology<\/i> can be analysed as bio-logy<\/b>, \u201cthe study of life.\u201d However, the 2nd declension noun \u03b2\u03b9\u03bf\u03c2 loses its -\u03bf\u03c2 ending in yielding the base \u03b2\u03b9-; and therefore the English compound should be divided as bi-o-logy<\/b>. That is the reason why zoology<\/i> (z<\/b>\u014d<\/strong>-o-logy<\/b>) ought not to be pronounced \u201czoo-ology.\u201d Sometimes the division points in a Greek compound can be very surprising. If you asked a random group of intelligent people to divide the word helicopter<\/i> into its elements, most of them would probably assume it was a heli-copter<\/b>, whatever that meant\u2014a \u201csun-beater,\u201d maybe? In fact, this Greek compound derivative is a helic-o-pter<\/b>, a \u201cspiral wing\u201d (from \u1f11\u03bb\u03b9\u03be, \u1f11\u03bb\u03b9\u03ba-\u03bf\u03c2, \u201cspiral,\u201d the connecting vowel omicron, and \u03c0\u03c4\u03b5\u03c1\u03bf\u03bd, \u201cwing\u201d). It was a precise and ideal name for that type of aircraft; amazingly enough, the word came into English way back in 1872, via the French h\u00e9licopt\u00e8re<\/em>.<\/p>\n

  1. In normal usage, we use the hyphen to divide a word into syllables; here we are dividing the word into morphological components. Don't confuse the two procedures. ↵<\/a><\/li><\/ol><\/div>","protected":false},"author":20,"menu_order":1,"template":"","meta":{"pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"Chapter 17: Compound Words in Greek","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[52],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-58","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry","chapter-type-numberless"],"part":57,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greeklatinroots2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/58","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":10,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greeklatinroots2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/58\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":542,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greeklatinroots2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/58\/revisions\/542"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greeklatinroots2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/57"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greeklatinroots2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/58\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greeklatinroots2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greeklatinroots2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=58"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greeklatinroots2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=58"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.bccampus.ca\/greeklatinroots2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=58"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}