10 Words that Derive from Greek
Whenever you start any language, vocabulary may be one of the trickiest parts to master. However, you have one benefit, speaking English. English is almost like a sponge with how many different languages have influenced its vocabulary, especially languages like French, Italian & yes even Greek! Around 6% of the entirety of English vocabulary is directly from Greek, here are 10 to start you off!
1) Geography – Γεωγραφία [geografía]
If you love maps, I am sure you are familiar with this one. Geography is made of two Greek root words: γεω [geo]- means “earth” and -γραφία [grafía] meaning to write. So, geography is literally writing/graphing the earth.
2) Democracy – Δημοκρατία [dimokratía]
The Greek’s are often touted as the originators of democracy, and the origins of this word are equally Greek. Stemming from demos δήμος (the people) and kratos κράτος (the power), democracy literally means the power of the people
3) Marathon – Mαραθώνας [marathónas]
Marathon comes from Greek in a bit of an interesting way. It is not made of any special roots but rather it comes from a story. Legend says that one may, Pheidippides, ran from Athens to the battlefield of Marathon to deliver the message of the Persians Defeat. This distance is said to be around 42 km or 26 miles long, the length of our modern marathons
4) Music – Mουσική [mousikí]
If you like Greek mythology, you may have heard of the Muses, the daughters of Zeus and goddesses of memories. Well, this is exactly where the word music comes from, literally the art of muses.
5) Musuem – Μουσείο [mouseío]
Just like music, museums also come from the root relating to the Muses. In this case, a museum is a shrine for the Muses.
6) Narcissism – Ναρκισσισμός [narkissismós]
Keeping in line with the theme of the Greek mythos, narcissism comes from the fateful tale of Narcissus, a young man who enamored himself upon seeing his own reflection in a lake.
7) Echo – Ηχώ [ichó]
In the story of Narcissus, there was a nymph who fell in love with a man but withered away as the man never acknowledged her again after falling in love with himself. The only thing that was left behind was her voice. This nymph was Echo.
8) Thespian – Hθοποιός [ithopoiós]
While famous for democracy, Greeks were equally famous for poetry and theatre. This word, meaning the equivalent of actor, is where we get our word thespian. It is said that thespian comes from the ancient Greek poet Thespis, who is touted as being the first person to ever appear as an actor on stage.
9) Dinosaur – Δεινόσαυρος [deinósavros]
Like democracy, dinosaur is also made of two root Greek words, δεινός [deinos] meaning terrible and σαύρα [Savra] meaning lizard, so literally dinosaur is a terrible lizard.
10) Eureka – Εύρηκα [évrika]
If you have ever found something wonderful, you might have shouted the phrase, “Eureka, I found it,” but did you know this comes from a Greek story? It was said that the great, Greek mathematician Archimedes was in his bath when he apparently discovered the concept of buoyancy.
Conclusion
Despite having a different alphabet from our English one, there are quite literally thousands of Greek words that you already know, even if you didn’t know them already. But of course, a handful of words is only a step towards a greater goal of learning Greek or simply more about the wonderful world of languages. If you are interested in learning Greek, check out our 100% online, personalized language programs here at LanguageBird! For now, Να έχεις μια όμορφη μέρα!
