List of Greek words with English derivatives
Something I thought might be neat to have. Not a full dictionary, but just a list of some of the words that have prominent derivatives in English or other languages. This could be very cool if we ever got a Greek alphabet, and someone who knows Greek. (Note: if someone who actually knows Greek sees this page, please check the suffixes of the words below, I know of myself that many of them are little more than educated guesses).
Alphabet being used - a b g d e z ê th i k l m n x o p r s t u ph kh ps ô - plus h for breathing (the 'h' is not considered an independent letter in Greek, thus words starting with h are alphabetized under the second letter). Note that in general the Greek 'u' becomes a 'y' when the word is used in English or other modern languages, while a 'k' often becomes a 'c'.
The (modern) Greek alphabet is: Aα,Ββ, Γγ, Δδ, Εε, Ζζ, Ηη, Θθ, Ιι, Κκ, Λλ, Μμ, Νν, Ξξ, Οο, Ππ, Ρρ, Σσ(when it is final it becomes ς), Ττ, Υυ, Φφ, Χχ, Ψψ, Ωω.
| anêr, andros | man | ανήρ, ανδρός |
| anthos, -ous | flower | ανθός |
| anthrôpos, -ou, -o | human being | άνθρωπος |
| arakhnê | spider | αράχνη |
| astêr | star | αστήρ |
| autos, -ê, -o | self (reflexive pronoun) | αυτός, --ή, -ό |
| barbaros | stranger, non-Greek | βάρβαρος |
| bios | life | βίος |
| claustos, -h, -on | closed, shut | κλειστός, -ή, ον |
| gaia | earth | γαία |
| graphein | to write | γράφειν |
| gunê | woman | γυνή |
| dêmos | district, its inhabitants, commoners | δήμος |
| eu | well | ευ |
| zoon | animal | ζώον |
| iathros | doctor | ιατρός |
| ikhthis | fish | ιχθύς |
| kakos, -ê, -on | bad | κακός |
| lithos | stone | λίθος |
| legein logos, -ou, -o | to pick up, count, say thought, word (verbal noun) | λέγειν λόγος, -ου, -ο |
| makros | Large | μακρός |
| melanos | pigmented, black | μελανός |
| mikros | small | μικρός |
| monos, -ê, -on | alone, solitary, forsaken | μόνος, -η, -ο |
| neos | new, young | νέος |
| oligos, -ê, -on | few, little, small | ολίγος, -η, -ον |
| homoios | equal | όμοιος |
| pais | boy, child | παίς |
| paideia (or pedia) | education, culture | παιδεία |
| polus, pollê, polu | many, much | πολύς, πολλή, πολύ |
| saura | lizard | σαύρα |
| sophein sophia | to know knowledge, wisdom | σοφείν σοφία |
| hupnos, -ou, -o | sleep | ύπνος, -ου, -ο |
| pan | all, complete | παν |
| peri | around | περί |
| tele | far away | τηλέ |
| phone | voice | φωνή |
| kakos, -e, -on | bad | κακός, -ή, -ον |
| philos, -ê philia | friend friendship | φίλος, -η φιλία |
| phobia phobos | irrational fear fear | φοβία φόβος |
| phiton, -o | plant | φυτόν, -ό |
| khaitê | loose, flowing hair | χαίτη |
| psikhe | spirit, mind, psyche | ψυχή |
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The table is nice but eta, η, had been é and omega, ω, was ó. based on Perseus. Who changed this?
- See also : Greek language
External link:
The Perseus Project, http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/ , has many useful pages for the study of classical languages and literatures, including dictionaries.