by Dwane | Dec 10, 2014 | Education, English, Greek
Amphora: Among the ancients, a two-handled vessel, tapering at the bottom, used for holding wine, or oil. Sometimes amphorae, filled with oil, were awarded to victorious athletes in the games… which is why, even today, trophies take on an amphoral shape. Amphora...
by Dwane | Oct 3, 2014 | Greek, Latin
Phantasm: something imagined; an illusion, or apparition; something that seems to exist, but, in fact, does not. The Latin word for ghost is phantasma. It comes from the Greek φάντασμα (a phantasm), which derives from φαντάζω (I make visible). The English word ghost...
by Dwane | Sep 20, 2014 | English, Greek, Vocabulary
Acantha: In botany, a prickle; in zoology, a spine or prickly fin. Acantha, in Greek mythology, was a beautiful nymph. Apollo fell in love with her. She resisted his advances. While pushing him away, she scratched his face. In anger, he turned her into a prickly...
by Dwane | Sep 20, 2014 | Education, English, Latin, Vocabulary
Acupuncture: a jab well done; a form of medicine that pricks the skin with needles to alleviate pain. I find Noah Webster’s old definition interesting. “Among the Chinese, a surgical operation, performed by pricking the part affected with a needle.” From Latin Latin...
by Dwane | Sep 19, 2014 | Education, English, Greek, Vocabulary
Acrolith: a stone head, a statue with a wooden body and head of stone. The U.S. government isn’t the only nation to debase. The “brilliant” powers that be have replaced the silver in our coins with cheaper metals. This official trickery is nothing new. In ancient...