100 + 1 English Words of Greek Origin
This book is dedicated to those who love the Greek language, the language of Homer, Plato, and Aristotle, the language of the Holy Gospels, and the Fathers of the Eastern Orthodox Church, the language of General Yannis Makriyannis, Giorgos Seferis, and Odysseas Elytis.
It is one of the educational tools used in the courses taught in Gnomon Greek Language and Culture School which have the title “Ancient and Modern Greek Language, History, and Culture Courses for people of all ages”…
…The book you hold in your hands (or have in your personal computer) is written according to modern readers’ profile: it is brief (it contains no more than 101 lemmata) and intuitive (only the basic elements of every word’s etymological evolution are given. Thus, it can introduce readers to the marvelous world of etymology in a mild and pleasant way.
The connection between Greek and English The Romans conquered Greece in 146 B. C. However, since they were not involved in arts and, more generally, culture, they were strongly influenced by the Greek language and culture. This is reflected in the celebrated verses of the sublime Latin poet Horace (65 – 8 B. C.): “Graecia capta ferum victorem cepit et artis intulit agresti Latio”. (Translation: “Though Greece was conquered, it subdued the conqueror and it introduced arts in the uncultured Latium”, Horace, Epistulae = Epistles, 2.1.156-157). Subsequently, the gradual conquering of Europe by the Romans resulted in the Romanisation of its peoples. Apart from their folkway, they also transmitted their language, Latin, which, however, had previously incorporated plenty of Greek words into its vocabulary. This vocabulary was expanded by the writing of the Holy Gospels in Greek and its enormous diffusion, as well as the conquering of Britain by the Normans (1066 - 1362). It kept on being expanded during the Renaissance, reaching its peak from the 18th century onwards with the development of sciences. Thus, the basic course of words borrowing is the following: Greek – Latin – English!