Episódios
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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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Before we begin, I have an announcement; From December 1st our account on X will no longer exist. Instead we're moving into Blue Sky and I'll put the handle on the description so you can find us there. @yourgreeksunday.bsky.social . I think it's a much friendlier platform. If you don't have an account there, you can find us on Instagram @yourgreeksunday where I also post videos with additional information on specific episodes or, you can follow my acting page on Facebook : Emmanuela Lia, a place where I share all my work including this podcast. And finally, if you're not into social media, thank you for waiting to listen to today's word! Let's go!
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Πους (pous) in ancient Greek and Πόδι (podi) in modern, means 'foot/leg'. Τρία (tria) means 'three'. From Ancient China to Ancient Greece we see many three- legged portable stands, cauldrons and vases. The first time the combination of those two words was recorded, was in the ancient syllabic alphabet used by the Mycenaeans and predating Ancient Greek, Linear B. The syllables read TI-RI-PO and of course nobody knows how they were pronounced but they were describing three-legged objects. The word was used in Ancient Greek and Latin and it came to English in 1603 in a translation of Plutarch's 'The Morals' by Philemon Holland and, a Latin pronunciation. ΤΡΙΠΟΔΟ/TRIPODInstagram @yourgreeksunday ,
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Today we have not one but two terms that were made up from Greek words and were coined in England. This time in 1865 by banker, philanthropist, scientist and polymath John Lubbock. He helped establish archaeology as a scientific discipline and promoted the need for public libraries, among other things. In his study of archaeology and the need to clearly distinguish Stone Age periods, he formed two new words. Παλαιό (paleo) in Greek means 'old' and Νεο (neo) means 'new' . Λίθος (lithos) means 'stone'. The combination seems fairly simple to us now but the concept is genius! The division of the Stone Age into ΠΑΛΑΙΟΛΙΘΙΚΟΣ & ΝΕΟΛΙΘΙΚΟΣ/PALAEOLITHIC & NEOLITHICInstagram @yourgreeksunday ,
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Aristotle used this word in his definition of Greek Drama and in particular Tragedy
Έστιν ουν τραγωδία, μίμησις πράξεως σπουδαίας και τελείας...' This is tragedy, the imitation of a significant and absolute act. Richard Dawkins used it to coin a new term in 1976 and according to Wikipedia 'it is an idea, behaviour or style that spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme' Well, in today's digital and visual language, it has taken the form of a short image-burst, that may or may not have words but it's an imitation of an idea, action or vibe. ΜΙΜΗΣΗ/MEMEInstagram @yourgreeksunday ,
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Happy November, everyone! We're still in Halloween mood here in the UK so, I've decided to follow up from last week's word. This is probably one of the most accurate yet creative modern namings of a medicine I know. We touched upon this god on a couple of episodes with his name mentioned in the last one but I've never told you his story. He was one of the first gods. Son of night and Sleep, nephew of Death (and I'm here to correct myself calling them brothers last week) , two of his thousands of siblings were Fear and Fantasia, also known as Dreams and although they had wings, he didn't need them. His purpose was to deliver messages to mortals from the other gods. His name comes from the word Μορφή (morfi) which means 'Shape' , because he would shape into anyone in order for the message to be more effective. According to the Roman writer Ovid, he would sleep on a bed of poppies and that's were the German pharmacist Friedrich Serturner who isolated the substance in 1804, got the idea for the name. The substance that would ease your pain, cause you to hallucinate or be deadly. If you haven't guessed it yet, the name of the god is Morpheus and the medicine ΜΟΡΦΙΝΗ/MORPHINEInstagram @yourgreeksunday ,
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Before we begin I have a small update for you, we did not win last week's Independent podcast awards but we're very happy we were nominated and, we got to spent the evening with so many interesting people, who are all passionate about the podcasts they create. So, go to the Independent Podcast Awards website, look up all the winners and the nominees. I'm sure you'll find more than one podcast to subscribe to.
But for today,
Happy Halloween
Let the spooky words in
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In modern Greek κοιμάμαι (kimame) means 'I sleep', in ancient Greek κείμαι (kime) meant 'I lie down' and a κοιμητήριο (kimitirio) was 'a bedroom'. After Christianity came along and suggested that death is nothing but a long sleep until the second coming, this place, would for some writers be an exceptional starting point for their ideas to come to life. Among other things. The word travelled to England through the usual route, Latin and French and Christianity secured the meaning. Although, Morpheus, the God of Sleep and his brother Death, never loosened their grip. ΚΟΙΜΗΤΗΡΙΟ/CEMETERYInstagram @yourgreeksunday ,
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Διδάσκειν (didaskin) is ancient Greek infinitive, the noun is Διδαχή (didahi) and the verb that is also used in modern Greek is Διδάσκω (didasko). The word came to English from the French in the 1600s in a translation by Samuel Hartlib, who was a fascinating man and was described as 'The European intelligencer' , what a way to describe someone who's life goal is to further knowledge! Although today the word has a negative connotation that comes from the 19th century, it didn't start that way, it meant exactly was the Greek word still means today. Someone capable of teaching. ΔΙΔΑΚΤΙΚΟΣ/DIDACTICInstagram @yourgreeksunday ,
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One of the benefits of being bilingual is that it gives you a bigger language field to get lost in and explore. However, sometimes you forget the obvious or take some words for granted; Like the one today which, I was convinced I've already talked about but haven't. Φίλος (philos) in both ancient and modern Greek means 'friend'. Σοφία (sofia/sophia) means 'wisdom'. The combined word was used to describe a practice in ancient Greece. The search for knowledge. Later on, it took the meaning of 'rational thought' and in English we first find it in Middle English as a direct loan from the French and meaning 'the exploration of all sciences including Alchemy'. As thinkers and scientists got more specific in their practices, so did the word. It got attached to the thinkers and, stayed. ΦΙΛΟΣΟΦΙΑ/PHILOSOPHYInstagram @yourgreeksunday ,
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Before we begin, I'd like to remind you that you can always email me with comments, questions or anything you want to say about what you hear in this podcast at [email protected] . You can also follow me on Instagram and X @yourgreeksunday and leave a review or a comment on the platform of your choice.
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Welcome to season 8! Wow! Although technically this is 7 and a bit, as I started season 1 on a January but who's counting, right? Well, this summer I realised how long I've been doing this because I got a few people asking me for advice on how to start a podcast and, I could answer; which also gave me the idea of our first word. Here we go! When Odysseus left Ithaca for Troy, he assigned his best friend to stand in for him for his son Telemachus; he would advise and protect the boy and occasionally be replaced by the Goddess Athena for some extra wisdom (because Gods did that!). His name became a character quality in 1699 (and much much much later, a job) after the publication of the French novel 'The adventures of Telemachus' by Francois Fenelon; which seems to have been very popular both in France and England and the book itself has a very interesting journey, have a look when you get a chance. So, for this magnificent human skill that comes with years of hard work, experience or divine intervention, we have one character in Homer's Odyssey to thank for and his name is ΜΕΝΤΟΡ/MENTORInstagram @yourgreeksunday ,
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Hello and Happy Autumn, everyone or Happy Fall if you're on the other side of the pond. Our new season will start in October but until then, I have some wonderful news! Our podcast has been nominated for an Independent Podcasts Award! The awards ceremony will be held at The King's Place in London and I'll put a link in the description (see below) , in case you want to book a ticket for the night and join the fun.
Now, you cannot vote for us since this year's judges are the ones deciding the winners BUT what you can do is, go to the platform of your choice and leave us a review. That, will help more people discover us and experience what you already enjoy, not to mention I love reading your reviews! Thank you for listening and getting us so far. Oh, and don't forget to follow us on Instagram @yourgreeksunday for short videos and updates.
See you soon!
Link to the awards
https://www.kingsplace.co.uk/whats-on/words/independent-podcast-awards-2024/Instagram @yourgreeksunday ,
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Have you noticed how this year, the first word of every month has been a myth or myth related? Whether you have or not, thank you for listening and staying with me for another season. As this is the last episode before our summer break, I would be amiss not to mention amazing musician Laertes Malkotsis who composed our theme tune and Laurence Parsons who designed our logo. During the break, there might be a bolus episode or two so, keep your ears sharp and don't forget: you can find me on Instagram & Twitter @yourgreeksunday and you can email me with comments, questions or anything you like to discuss that you've heard on this podcast at [email protected]
Here we go!
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This word first appears in writing in Homer's Epic, The Iliad and it meant 'a saying' , 'an opinion', 'an utterance'. Shortly after, Hesiod came along and used the word to detail the origins of human kind, its gods and heroes. And finally, Aristotle applied it to the plot of theatre plays and storytelling. The word came to English via Latin and around the 1800s was linked to fables and stories with heroic acts and supernatural elements ΜΥΘΟΣ/MYTHInstagram @yourgreeksunday ,
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Sometimes, Greeks seem to have many words for the same thing but to their defence, they had many years of thinking, inventing and applying words to very specific things. So although we've already found the word for 'pebble' in a previous episode, today, we're using another one Κρόκη (Kroke); And combined with the word for 'Lizard' Δίλος (Delos) It gives us the word, the ancient Greeks used for the animal found in the river Nile. As language evolved, the spelling in modern Greek has changed and in English, it's directly from the Latin one ΚΡΟΚΟΔΕΙΛΟΣ/CROCODILEInstagram @yourgreeksunday ,
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Most English words have arrived here either via Latin or Germanic ones. And because it was easier geographically, the ones that originated in Greece are the Latin based ones. But there are some exceptions and today we have one of them. A small pebble in ancient Greece was called Κάλυξ (Calix) and in Latin it was called 'Calx' . However, the word did not go to the French and then English as usual but it rerouted to Germany where they used it for 'limestone'. So, when the word came here and was called 'caelc' in old English, it meant 'the soft, white limestone' found on the South of England and cut in small pieces it was used to mark debt or game scores. The modern spelling of the work is from the 14th century mimicking the Latin one. ΚΑΛΥΞ/CHALKInstagram @yourgreeksunday ,
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This word came to English in 1845 from the French that gave it the specific meaning we use today but: Ακρη (akri) in both ancient and modern Greek, means 'the edge' of a place, regardless if it's a mountain or a sidewalk and Βαίνειν (venin) is the ancient Greek infinitive for 'walking/Going' so, the one who walks on the edge of any place not just a high one and not only a rope, is an ΑΚΡΟΒΑΤΗΣ/ACROBATInstagram @yourgreeksunday ,
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Before we begin, I have a little announcement ,the podcast has finally made it to Instagram. It has now its own separate account than my acting one and it has everything , including videos with additional information and fun facts. So, go ahead, give us a follow @yourgreeksunday and I'll see you there!
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Today's word is also linked to Dionysus as it's supposed to be one of the states his followers found themselves in, but it has a history of its own. Εκ (ek) in ancient and modern Greek is a preposition and means 'from', Ιστημι (istimi) is an ancient greek verb and it means 'I stand/I am in place'. The combined word means 'being out of place' and for the ancient Greeks that also meant being out of touch with yourself and your sanity. In the 14th century , writers of mystical theories, used the word to describe a state where your body was still but your mind and soul contemplated divine issues and that's where it probably got the positive link to euphoria. The word came to English in the 14th century from France through religious texts. ΕΚΣΤΑΣΗ/ECSTASYInstagram @yourgreeksunday ,
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Until I started this podcast, I didn't realise how many English speaking people named things by combining Greek words; either because they thought it would make them look smarter or because the words they chose, were the perfect description for their invention (and sounded smart).In 1787 the painter and inventor Robert Barker, created a 360 degree visual medium, patented under the title 'Apparatus for exhibiting Pictures'. The viewer would stand on a platform in the middle of it and would be surrounded by pictures. In 1789 he also invented its name by putting two Greek words together to describe it. Παν (pan) means 'everything' or 'the whole' and Οραμα (orama) means 'vision' or 'the thing to see' ΠΑΝΟΡΑΜΑ/PANORAMAInstagram @yourgreeksunday ,
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This is an English word based on an ancient Greek one that quickly changed meanings, started going on circles creating more words and making it-I'll be kind- fun to research. Κλήρος (Kleros) in ancient Greek meant 'Lot', 'piece of land' and subsequently 'inheritance', so far so good. A few hundred years go by and in the 5th book of the bible, people working as temple assistants were called Κληρικοί (Kleriki) because, and I quote '...therefore shall they have no inheritance among their brethren: the Lord is their inheritance'. But that name 'kliriki' expanded outside the church and was given to anyone who would read and write and was working in public offices or keeping accounts for businesses . With every language it went through the word came closer to today's meaning. 'Clericus'/ A priest in Latin, 'clerc'/a scribe in old French and in 1200 in old English and today, although the Greeks have kept the Christian meaning of the word, ΚΛΗΡΙΚΟΣ/CLERKInstagram @yourgreeksunday ,
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