Monday, December 19, 2011

English words from the Classical Myths: Priapism

According to the Oxford dictionary, the word priapism means "persistent and painful erection of the penis".
According to the Etymology dictionary, the word priapism comes from Priapus son of Dionysus and Aphrodite, the god who personified male reproductive power. His name is of unknown origin". He was a minor rustic fertility god, protector of livestock, fruit plants, gardens and male genitalia. Priapus is marked by his absurdly oversized, permanent erection. He became a popular figure in Roman erotic art and Latin literature, and is the subject of the often humorously obscene collection of verse called the Priapeia, in words of wikipedia.
Other words referring to priapism are : priapic and priapulid. We can see the use of the word in this article


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Sunday, December 18, 2011

English words from the Classical Myths: Psychology

According to the Oxford Dictionary, the word Psychology means ''the scientific study of the human mind and its functions, especially those affecting behaviour in a given context''.
According to the Etymology Dictionary, the word Psychology comes from the name of Greek, psyque '' the soul, mind, spirit, breath, life, the invisible animating principle or entity which occupies and directs the physical body'' (personified as Psykhe, the lover of Eros).
''Psyche is the wife of Eros, the god of love Aphrodite's son. She married him without knowing who it is but one night he discovers. Aphrodite jealous want to get rid of the psyche but ultimatelysaves Eros and the fruit of the gods and becomes a goddess'', in words of Wikipedia.
Other words referring to psycologhy are psychologist, psychological.We cand see the use of the word psychology in this article.

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English words from the Classical Myths: Music

According to the Oxford Dictionary, the word music means" vocal or instrumental sounds (or both) combined in such a way as to produce beauty of form, harmony, and expression of emotion".
According to the Etymology Dictionary, the word music comes from the name of the Greek god of art, Muse."There were nine Muses, daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, and their specialties are traditionally: Calliope (epic poetry), Clio (history), Erato (love poetry, lyric art), Euterpe (music, especially flute), Melpomene (tragedy), Polymnia (hymns), Terpsichore (dance), Thalia (comedy), Urania (astronomy)".
"They were considered the source of the knowledge, related orally for centuries in the ancient culture, that was contained in poetic lyrics and myths. The compliment to a real woman who inspires creative endeavor is a later idea" in words of Wikipedia.Other words referring to muse are museum or mosaic. We can see how to use the word music in this article.

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English words from Greek gods: Plutocracy


According to the Oxford Dictionary the word plutocracy means: "government by the wealthy"
According to the Etymology Dictionary the word plutocracy comes from the name of the Greek god of wealth, Plouton. "In ancient Greek religion and myth, Pluto was a name for the ruler of the underworld; the god was also known as Hades, a name for the underworld itself. This deity has two major myths: in Greek consmogony, he received the rule of the underworld in a three-way division of sovereignty over the world, with his brothers Zeus ruling Heaven and Poseidon the Sea; and he abducts Persephone to be his wife and the queen of his realm. In other myths, he plays a secondary role, mostly as the possessor of a quest-object." in words of Wikipedia.
Other words referring to pluto are: plutocrat, plutocratic and plutocratically (according to Oxford Dictionary). We can see the use of the word plutocracy in this article






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English words from the Classical Myths: Fortune



According to the Oxford Dictionary, the word fortune means "chance or luck as an arbitrary force affecting human affairs".
According to the Wikipedia the word fortune comes from the name of the Roman goddess of luck, Fortuna, is the equivalent to the Greek goddness Tyche.
"She might bring good luck or bad: she could be represented as veiled and blind, as in modern depictions of Justice, and came to represent life's capriciousness".
"On June 24 she was given cult at the festival of Fors Fortuna".

Other words from Fortune are fortunate, fortunately or fortuity.
We can find the use of the word fortune in the name of this magazine.


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Saturday, December 17, 2011

English words from Greek gods: Mnemonics.


According to the Oxford dictionary, mnemonics is "the study and development of systems for improving and assisting the memory".
 According to the Ethymology dictionary, mnemonics is the "“art of developing memory", it is " from Gk. mnemonikos "of or pertaining to memory," from mnemon (gen. mnemonos) "remembering, mindful," frommnasthai "remember," from PIE base *men- "to think". The noun meaning "mnemonic device" is from 1858. Mnemosyne, lit. "memory, remembrance," was a titaness, mother of the Muses.
According to Wikipedia, Mnemoysne "was the personification of memory in Greek mithology. This titaness was the daughter of Gaia and Uranus and the mother of the nine Muses by Zeus."
Mnemonically is a word derived from the same root. 
We can see the use of the word mnemonics in this website


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English words from the Classical Myths: Echo.

According to the Oxford Dictionary, the word echo means "a sound or series of sounds caused by the reflection of sound waves from a surface back to the listener". According to the Wikipedia, the word echo "was an Oread (a mountain nymph) who loved her own voice. Zeus loved consorting with beautiful nymphs and visited them on Earth often. Eventually, Zeus's wife, Hera, became suspicious, and came from Mt. Olympus in an attempt to catch Zeus with the nymphs".
Other words referring to echo are echo chamber, echo sounder, echo virus. We can see the use of the word echo in this article.

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Friday, December 16, 2011

English words from the Classical Myths: Typhoon

According to the Oxford Dictionary typhoon is "a tropical storm in the region of the Indian or western Pacific oceans".
According to the Etymology Dictionary, the word typhoon comes from the name of the Greek god of whirlwind, typhon. "He was a monstrous immortal storm-giant who was defeated and imprisoned by Zeus ion the pit of tartaros He was the source of devastating storm winds which issued forth from that dark nether realm.
He was so huge that his head was said to brush the starts. He appeared man-shaped down to the things, with two coiled vipers in place of legs. Attached to his hands in place of fingers were a hundred serpent heads, fifty per hand. He was winged, with dirty matted hair and beard, pointed ears, and eyes flashing fire" in words of Theoi Encyclopedia.
Other word referring to typhoon are typhoeus and typhonic. We can see the use of the word typhoon in this article.

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English words from the Classical Myths: Martial


According to the Oxford Dictionary, the word martial means "relating to fighting or war". According to the Etymology Dictionary , the word martial comes from the name of the Roman god of war, Mars."The Roman god of war, apparently from earlier Mavors, related to Oscan Mamers. He also had agricultural attributes, and may ultimately have been a Spring-Dionysus." "Although Mars was viewed primarily as a destructive and destabilizing force, Mars represented military power as a way to secure peace, and was a father of the Roman people." in words of Wikipedia.
Other words referring to mars are martian or martially. We can see the use of the word martial in this article.



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Thursday, December 15, 2011

English words from the Classical Myths: Mercurial

According to the Oxford Dictionary, the word mercurial means '' subject to sudden or unpredictable changes of mood or mind ''.
According to the Etymology Dictionary the word mercurial cames from the name of the Greek god Mercury, the god of the merchandise'' the Roman god, originally a god of tradesmen andthieves, from merx (merchandise); or perhaps from Etruscan and influenced by merx. Later he was associated with Greek Hermes''.
''He was a messenger who wore winged sandals, and a god of trade, the son of Maia Maiestas and Jupiter in Roman mythology.In his earliest forms, he appears to have been related to the Etruscan deity Turms, but most of his characteristics and mythology were borrowed from the analogous Greek god, Hermes'' in words of Wikipedia.
Other words referring to mercurial are mercurialis, mercuriality and mercurian.
We can see the use of the word in this article about a famous mercurial man.


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English words from the Classical Myths: Midas touch


According to the Oxford Dictionary, the expression Midas touch means '' the hability to make money out of anything one undertakers''.
According to the Etymology Dictionary the expression Midas touch comes to the '' the king of Phrygia whose touched turned everything to gold (including his food).''
''He bears some relation to the historical Mita, king of the Mushki in Western Anatolia in the later 8th century BC. King Mita of Mushki warred with Sargon II of Assyria and defended his kingdom of Phrygia from the Cimmerians'' in words of Wikipedia.
We can see how tu use the expression in this article.

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English words from the Classical Myths: Narcisissism


According to the Oxford Dictionary, the word narcissism means "Psychology extreme selfishness, with a grandiose view of one´s own talents and a craving for admiration, as characterizing a personality type". According to the Etymology Dictionary, the word narcissism comes from the greek beautiful youth, Narkissos. Narkissos was the son of the god of the rivers, Cephissus. Narkissos fell in love with his own reflection in a spring and was turned to the flower narcissus. Other words referring to narcissism are narcissus and narcissistic.We can see the use of the word narcissism in this article when saying "Having children is an act of genetic narcissism. We look for traits that remind us of ourselves."

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English words from the Classical Myths: Ocean


According to the Oxford dictionary, the word ocean means "a very large expanse of sea, in particular each of the main areas into which the sea is divided geographically".
According to the Etymology dictionary, the word ocean comes from the Greek god Oceanus "occean (12c.), from L. oceanus, from Gk. okeanos, the great river or sea surrounding the disk of the Earth (as opposed to the Mediterranean), of unknown origin. Personified as Oceanus, son of Uranus and Gaia and husband of Tethys".
Wikipedia says that "Oceanus was a titan, and he was the protector of the greek ships, he have a sister called Thetys, and they created the nymps sea, also known as the three-thousand Oceanids".
There are other derivates of the word, such as Oceania
This word is used in this article.



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English words from the Classical Myths: Siren


According to the Oxford Dictionary siren is "a device that makes a loud prolonged sound as a signal or warning"
According to the etymology Dictionary, the word siren comes from the name of "sea nymph who by her singing lures sailors to their destruction ".
Acording to the Wikipedia the word siren comes from the the greks god Peisinoe, Aglaope y Thelxiepeia."In Greek mythology the sirens were three dangerous mermaid like creatures, portrayed as seductreses who lured nearby sailors with their enchanting music".

Other words referring to siren are siren song, siren suit and sirenia
We can see the use of the word siren in this article .

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Wednesday, December 14, 2011

English Words from the Classical Myths: Stentorian

According to the Oxford dictionary Stentorian is: (of a person’s voice) loud and powerful: a stentorian roar. (adjetive).
According to the Etymology dictionary Stentorian is : "of powerful voice," c.1600, from Stentor, legendary Greek herald in the Trojan War, whose voice (described in the "Iliad") was as loud as 50 men. His name is from Gk. stenein "groan, moan".
Other words with this root are : Stentor ( a sedentary trumpet-shaped animal), stentorphone and stentorin.
We can see how to use Stentorian in this article.

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English words from the Classical Myths: Jovial.

According to the Oxford Dictionary jovial is "as an adjective, cheerful and friendly". According to the Etimology Dictionary, the word jovial comes from under the influence of the planet Jupiter. "The meaning (good-humored, merry), is from astrological belief that those born under the sign of the planet Jupiter are of such dispositions." In ancient Roman religion and myth, Jupiter (Latin Iuppiter) or Jove is the king of the gods, and the god of the sky and thunder in words of wikipedia. He is the equivalent of Zeus in the Greek pantheon. Other words referring to jovial are joviality, jovialize, etc. We can see the use of this words in this article.



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English words from the Classical Myths: Venerate

According to the Oxford Dictionary the word venerate is "regard whit great respect; revere"
According to the Etymology Dictionary, the word venerate comes from the name of the Roman Goddess of beauty and love, Venus." Venus is a Roman goddess principally associated with love, beauty, sex, sexual seduction and fertility, who played a key role in many Roman religious festivals and myths. From the third century BC, the increasing Hellenization of Roman upper classes identified her as the equivalent of the greek goddess Aphrodite" in words of Wikipedia.
Another word referring to Venus is venereal disease. We can see the use of the word venerate in this article.








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English words from the Classical Myths: Atlas


According to the Oxford dictionary, the word atlas means:"A book of maps or charts". According to the Etimology, the word atlas comes from a Titan called Atlas.
" Titan, son of Iapetus and Clymene, supposed to uphold the pillars of heaven, which was his punishment for being the war leader of the Titans in the struggle with the Olympian gods."Other words referring to atlas are: atlas moth, atlas mountains, atlantic. We can see the use of the word atlas in this article.

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English words from the Classical Myths: Volcano


According to the Oxford Dictionary, volcano is " a mountain or hill, typically conical, having a crater or vent through which lava, rock fragments, hot vapor, and gas are or have been erupted from the earth's crust".
According to the Etymology Dictionary, the word volcano comes from the name of the Roman god of fire, Vulcan. " The origin of the Roman god of fire Vulcan has been traced back to the Cretan god Velchanos by Gérard Capdeville, primarily under the suggestion of the close similarity of their names" in words of wikipedia Encyclopedia.
Other words referring to volcano are volcanogenic, volcanological, volcanology. We can see the use of the word volcano in this article.


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Tuesday, December 13, 2011

English words from the Classical Myths: Cereal.

According to the Oxford Dictionary , the word cereal means ''a grass producing edible grain that is grown as an agricultural crop''.
According to the Etymology Dictionary, the word cereal comes from the name of the Greek goddess of agriculture, Ceres.'' Ceres was the goddess of agriculture, grain crops, fertility and motherly


relationships. She was originally the central deity in Rome's so-called plebeian, then was paired with her daughter Proserpina in what Romans described as "the Greek rites of Ceres". The seven-day April festival of Cerealia, included the popular Ludi Ceriales (Ceres' games). She was also honoured in the May lustration of fields at the Ambarvalia festival, at harvest-time, and during Roman marriages and funeral rite'' in words of Wikipedia.
This word is used for the name Cerealine, a trademark. We can see how to use the word cereal in this article .

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Monday, December 12, 2011

English words from the Classical Myths: Hypnosis

According to the Oxford Dictionary hypnosis is "the induction of a state of consciousness in which a person apparently loses the power of voluntary action and is highly responsive to suggestion or direction". 

According to the Etymology Dictionary, the word hypnosis comes from the name of the Greek god of sleep, hypnos. "He resided in Erebos, the land of eternal darkness, beyond the gates of the rising sun. From there he rose into the sky each night in the train of his mother Nyx (Night). Hypnos was often paired with his twin brother Thanatos (Peaceful Death), and the Oneiroi (Dreams) were his brothers or sons" in words of Theoi Encyclopedia.

Other words referring to hypnos are hypnophobia, hypnotherapy or hypnotic. We can see the use of the word hypnosis in this article.


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