by Dwane | Sep 4, 2014 | Education, English, Greek, Vocabulary
Acapnotic: a non smoker. From Greek ά (not, without) and καπνός (smoke). Want to tell your friends “No, thanks!” without being rude? Tell them you are acapnotic. They will think you have a medical condition. And, you will smile at your...
by Dwane | Sep 3, 2014 | Education, English, Greek, Vocabulary
Achillea millefolium: yarrow; the milfoil. From Greek Ἀχιλλεύς (Achilles) and Latin mille (1,000) and folium (leaf). Literal translation… the plant of one thousand leaves. According to legend, Achilles and his men used this plant to staunch the flow of blood...
by Dwane | Sep 2, 2014 | English, Greek, Vocabulary
Acedia: apathy; boredom; spiritual or mental sloth; not caring about one’s position in the world. From Greek ά (not, without) and κῆδος (care). Acedia, then, literally means: to not care.
by Dwane | Sep 1, 2014 | English, Greek, Vocabulary
Otalgia: a pain in the ear. From Greek ώτο (ear), and ἄλγος (pain, suffering). This is a medical term. Unfortunately, you cannot use the word to describe popular teenage boy bands.
by Dwane | Aug 30, 2014 | Education, English, Greek, Uncategorized
Nostalgia: a longing for home; a longing for better days. From νοσταλγία (nostalgia), which further derives from νόστος (a return home), and ἄλγος (pain, suffering).
by Dwane | Aug 29, 2014 | Education, English, Greek, Vocabulary
Onager: the wild donkey of Asia. From Greek όνος (donkey, ass) and άγριος (wild). Άγριος derives from ἀγρός (field). Onager is also the name for a Roman siege weapon, a type of ballista, which threw stones from a bag or wooden bucket. Evidently, this weapon had...
