Words of ancient Greek origin. Greek language: words that are used most often

Most of the words that came into Russian from the Greek language are easily recognizable. You hear "epos", "liturgy", "geography" - and there is no doubt about their origin. But the vocabulary familiar to us, which we use daily, seems native and primordially Russian. It turns out that this is not always the case.

Remember your school times? When you first came to a lesson, say, biology, and the teacher said: “Today, children, we begin to study the science of biology. And its name came to us from the Greek language ... "

Since then, we have become accustomed to the fact that in the Russian language there are words borrowed from Greek (primarily this is due to the fact that the Cyrillic alphabet was created on the basis of the Greek alphabet). And scientific terms, and church vocabulary, and words related to the field of art, and even names. We guess about many of them right away, barely hearing them.

But not everyone knows that the borrowing does not end there. There are many other words that at first glance have nothing to do with Greek. Ordinary words that surround us in everyday life. Let's talk about them.

Words of Greek Origin in Russian: 15 Unexpected Examples

Food

To begin with, let's take our native vegetables, in which at first glance there is nothing exotic. We eat them all our lives and do not even think about where they came from.

For example, cucumber. Its name comes from the Greek word άγουρος , which was formed from ἄωρος, which means "immature". And all because cucumbers are eaten in an unripe - green - form.

The name beet was borrowed from the ancient Greek σεῦκλον (as variants σεῦτλον, τεῦτλον in different dialects). The ancient Greeks, by the way, really appreciated this vegetable for its beneficial properties.

Another example is vinegar. When it began to be made in Russia, it has not really been established, but it is known that its name comes from the Greek ὄξος . In modern Greek, vinegar is called ξύδι , and οξύ is an acid.

The word fritter comes from ἐλάδιον , which, in turn, was formed from έλαιον. It translates as "olive oil", "a little oil". Not surprising considering the way this dish is prepared.

Houseware

Now let's talk about the names of objects that surround (or once surrounded) us in everyday life.

For example, Terem. It would seem - here it is exactly ours, Russian. But no - it comes from ancient Greek τέρεμνον (τέραμνον) , which means "house, dwelling".

Or lohan. At first glance it seems that this is not a borrowing at all. In fact, it comes from the Greek λεκάνη - "pelvis, tub."

The same applies to the name of such an object as a bed, formed from κρεβάτι (κράββατος) - looks like it, doesn't it? It also reminds of a completely different word - shelter. Although in terms of etymology they have nothing in common.

But the name "lamp" has come a long way. From ancient Greek λαμπάς - “lamp, lamp, torch”) it came to Latin (lamrada), from there, in turn, to German and French(lampe). And the Russians, “cutting a window” to Europe, borrowed it and changed it in their own way.

Here are a couple more examples: a lantern - formed from φανάρι (derived from φανός - "lamp, light, torch"), ship - from ancient Greek κάραβος (originally it meant crab. The Greek word was already formed from it καράβι and Russian "ship").

Other words

That's not all. Take the word "crocodile". It is also of Greek origin κροκόδειλος ), and the Latin crocodilus, from which the equivalents in English, German and other languages \u200b\u200bhave come, is nothing more than a borrowing.

Another interesting example is the dragon. At first glance it seems that this latin word. Yes, there is such a thing - dracō, -ōnis. But this is also borrowing. In Russian, it first appeared in the translations of the Monk Maxim the Greek (Maxim the Greek - Μάξιμος ο Γραικός - a Greek monk, writer and translator who lived in the 16th century. From 1518 he lived in Russia, where he was invited Grand Duke for translating Greek books and manuscripts).

Dragon in Greek δράκων, δράκος , and this name is formed from the ancient Greek δέρκομαι (more precisely, from one of its forms - δρακεῖν), which translates as “clearly see”.

Here are two more words that came into Russian from Greek through Latin: “echo” through German (Echo) and Latin (ēсhō) from ηχώ - echo, echo; "zone" via French (zone) and Latin (zōna) from ζώνη - belt, zone.

The word "hero" also came through French - from the ancient Greek ἥρως - hero, warrior Modern spelling ήρωας .

Here you see - Greek words there is much more to Russian than it seems. The vocabulary presented in this article is only a small part of them.

And how many traces the myths of ancient Greece left in our language! Take the word "panic". It came from the name Pan (Πά̄ν)- Greek god of the forest. He could be cheerful, but he could send such horror to a person (and even to a whole army!) That he started to run without looking back. This is how the expression “panic fear” arose.

And today we so often meet and casually use catchphrases from ancient Greek myths (sometimes not even fully understanding their meaning). But about them - another time.

Have you ever wondered how many borrowings are in the Russian language? Write answers in the comments!

Joke - Russian word, derived from the Greek word ανέκδοτος (from Greek anekdotos unpublished). Jokes originally existed in oral, were a witty story about everyday problems and topical political events, often with obscene, obscene content, therefore they were not subject to publication, publicity. Russian word a nekdot comes from the Greek word ανέκδοτος (unpublished, unpublished), since the jokes contained obscene words, they were not allowed to be published.

Diamond - stone of victory and strength, its name comes from the Greek "adamas" - indestructible

Galaxy- (from Greek γάλα [gala] - milk, γάλακτος (genitive case)
MILKY WAY, GALAXY - (from Greek - milky) the constant phenomenon of a light strip that crosses everything starry sky, visible on a dark moonless night onsky (because of its resemblance to spilled milk).
The origin of the concept of the Galaxy is associated with the myth of the birth of Hercules. The great ancient Greek hero Hercules was the son of Zeus and mortal woman Alcmene, daughter of the king of Mycenae. How the events of that time are described: since Hercules was born from a mortal, he lacks divinity and Zeus secretly puts him under the sleeping Hera's chest. She wakes up, pushes Hercules away, some of the milk spills out and what the Greeks called "kyklos galaxias" [gr. γαλαξίας (κύκλος)] - Milky Way in Russian.Our concept of the Galaxy - it is from this milk, which spilled sometime when Zeus tried to feed Hercules.

Grammar. The word grammar (grammar) - (Greek grammatike, from gramma letter, spelling), came into English from French (grammaire), ultimately ascending - through a series of intermediate links - to the ancient Greek word γράμμα (named pad.), γράμματος (gen. Pad.) letter, etymologically - (something) scrawled.

GYMNASTICS- (from the Greek gymnos naked). In ancient Greece, for a long time, athletes competed in the same light raincoats. One day, one of the winners of the competition lost his raincoat while running, and everyone decided that it was easier for him to run without a raincoat. Since then, all participants in the competition began to enter the arena naked. In Greek, naked "γυμνός". Hence the word "gymnastics" appeared, which in ancient times included all types of physical exercises.

AndDIOT- - origin of the word.
English word "idiot" and Russian "moron" originate from the ancient Greek word "ιδιώτης" .
The Greek word "ιδιώτης" comes from the word "ίδιος" (self) and the ending "ώτης".
From ancient Greek the word "ιδιώτης" entered into Latin language as "idiota" in the sense of "untrained, ignorant person". In the same sense, it was originally used in English language(idiot), and then entrenched in the meaning of "feeble-minded", as in Russian.

HYSTERIA - origin
HYSTERIA-(from Greek υστέρα (Hysteria) uterus)
1. Do you ever experience exhaustion or stress?
2. Do you have difficulty falling asleep?
3. Do you suffer from bloating?
4. Are you less interested in food or sex?
5. Do you have a strong desire for sex?
6. Do you often find yourself in confusing situations?
If any of the respondents answered yes to one of these questions and was a woman, then it was believed that she was suffering from hysteria and should be placed in a psychiatric clinic. Surprisingly, the above took place in the 19th century. in the countries of Northern Europe.
In Greek, the word "υστέρα" means uterus. Definition hysteria(υστερία) as an ailment was first given by Freud as a symptom of an unstable or problematic erotic attraction. Naturally, this was the most frequent "disease" of women. "Hysterical" women went to a special doctor. After each visit to the doctor and massage as therapy, the women left with a sense of relief, in a state of euphoria, finally freed from the "illness". In those years, women suffering from this "ailment" were considered hysterical. Women with excessive sexual desire were treated with distrust and fear, they were stigmatized. But today this word "hysteria" has nothing to do with sexual desire, but is used equally in relation to both women and men suffering from mental and bodily pathologies.
So the word "hysteria" comes from the Greek "hystera", which means uterus.

Nostalgia from the Greek word νοσταλγία (nostalgia< νόστος return home + άλγος suffering, pain. Feeling of painful homesickness.

Word " Symbol"comes from the Greek word σύμβολο (symbolon) , what does "conditional language" mean, symbol for what concepts, ideas. The symbol contains a figurative meaning, it contains a certain secret, a hint, allowing only to guess what is meant, what the author wanted to say (in literature).

EUTHANASIA - ευθανασία (Greek- easy death).
According to etymology, the word euthanasia means an easy, painless death. The word consists of the prefix "ευ", which means "good, light" and the word "θάνατος", which means "death". Originally the Greek word ευθανασία (euthanasia) meant a glorious, beautiful, quiet death. Today, retaining its original meaning, this word is also used as a medical term: euthanasia(deliberately accelerating death or painless compassionate killing of hopelessly ill people in the last stage of the disease).
An example of an easy and happy death (euthanasia) is the case of Diagoras from Ancient Greece, a famous athlete, a native of the island of Rhodes, who lived in the fifth century BC, who became the winner in four Panhellenic competitions. Three of his sons were also famous athletes and in the same day became winners in various types of competitions of the Olympic Games. Their father, a well-known and already gray-haired athlete, overwhelmed with a sense of joy, pride and satisfaction for the successes of his sons, shed tears, while his sons, lifting him on their shoulders, circled around the stadium to the cheers of the people: "Die now, Diagoras! What a better can you still expect a moment for death? You can't become an Olympian god!". And, indeed, the elder died of excitement and joy.

Energy, as we learn from dictionaries, this is a general quantitative measure of various forms of motion of matter. And the word is of Greek origin. In Greek, the word energy (ενέργεια) has several meanings. It consists of the prefix εν - "inside" and the word εργο - "work, labor". Today it means, firstly, work, action, effort, activity, for example, φιλική ενέργεια - friendly act, εχθρική ενέργεια - hostile act, επιθετική ενέργεια - offensive action.
Во вторых, оно означает поступок, акт, например, τρομοκρικτική ενέργεια -террористичесий акт, и, в третьих, энергия как физический термин, например, θετική ενέργεια - положительная энергия, δυναμική ενέργεια - потенциальная энергия, ατομική ενέργεια - атомная энергия, πυρινική ενέργεια - nuclear power. This word is also found in the phrases: renewable sources of energy - ανανεώσιμες πηγές ενέργειας, θέτω σε ενέργεια - bring into action, ενεργοιήση- to start the work of something, ενεργός - active, active, ενεν, εν, εν, working, etc.

Borrowing foreign words is one of the ways in which any modern language develops. According to various estimates, today in Russian about 10% of words are borrowed from other languages as a result of various kinds of connections, contacts, relationships between states. A significant proportion of these ten percent is occupied by words that appeared at different times from the Greek language.

Many Greek words in Russian are similar not only in sound, but also in spelling - this is due to the fact that the basis of the Slavic alphabet is just. For example, the Russian word "coffee" in Greek is pronounced as "kafes", "soup" sounds like "supa", and "fruits" - "fruit".

It is worth noting that the Greeks themselves do not speak only their native language; There are also borrowed words in Greek - it was influenced by French, Turkish, Italian, English, etc.

Historical aspect

The first borrowings appeared in Slavic speech as early as the time of Kievan Rus, when trade and economic relations were established with Byzantium. First of all, these were the terms associated with trade and navigation - sail, ship, penal servitude, as well as the names of goods imported from Byzantium - lamp, lantern, bed, lemon. Later, the terms that appeared in the speech of merchants and sailors began to be used by those who had nothing to do with trade.

Most of the borrowed words came into Russian through the Old Slavonic language - lepta, Gehenna, heresy, memorial service, as well as compound words with the roots "good-", "good-", "sue-". Part - through European languages in the XII-XIX centuries - these are the names of sciences, medical, technical, political terms.

Some words entered Russian through Latin: system, problem, democracy, analysis.

Many of our names, both male and female, are of Greek origin.

Where are Greek words found?

Greek words in Russian can be found everywhere, they are so familiar that no one thinks about their foreign origin. Everyday life, science, religion, technology, art, politics - these are not all areas in which there are borrowed words.

Many commonly used words came to us from Greece: thermos, lantern, bench, notebook, magnet, hero, dialogue, tower, religious words: gospel, deacon, angel, anathema, monk, monastery, icon, diocese. The names of most sciences also came into the Russian language from Hellas: mathematics, logic, history, pedagogy, geology, philosophy, physics, geometry, anatomy, geography. They were not without them in the field of art - poetry, tragedy, comedy, drama, melody, symphony, epigraph, etc. Doctors cannot do without a diaphragm, aorta, analysis, bacteria, politicians cannot imagine their life without democracy, monarchy, anarchy, hegemony .

Non-Slavic names

Many names, both male and female, came from Greece. Probably, each of us has acquaintances named Alexander, Andrey, Galina, Evgeny, Ekaterina, Nikolai, Larisa, Sophia, but no one thought that initially these names were not Russian. Translated from Greek, Alexander means - the protector of people, Andrei - courageous, brave, Galina - calmness, Eugene or Eugenia - nobility, Catherine - purity, Nikolai - the winner of peoples, Larisa - a seagull, Sophia or Sofia - wisdom. The names Anatoly, Arkady, Angelina, Vasily, George, Denis, Irina, Lydia, Maya, Miron, Peter, Tikhon, Fedot also came from words from the Greek language.

Try to read the words written in Greek:

ΙΣΤΟΡΙΑ ΤΕΤΡΑΔΙΟΝ ΚΑΤΑΛΟΓΟΣ ΠΡΟΓΡΑΜΜΑ ΓΡΑΜΜΑΤΑ
ΜΕΤΑΦΟΡΑ ΠΑΡΑΓΡΑΦΗ ΧΡΟΝΙΚΑ ΚΟΣΜΟΣ ΛΑΜΠΑ

What do they remind you of?

Of course, you easily recognized the familiar words in them:

HISTORY, NOTEBOOK, CATALOGUE, PROGRAM, LITERATURE, METAPHOR,

PARAGRAPH, CHRONICLE, SPACE, LAMP

This circumstance is worthy of surprise: many letters and words in Russian and Greek are very similar in spelling.

How to explain such a phenomenon?

Firstly, the fact that the basis of the Slavic alphabet is the Greek alphabet.

Secondly, many words in Russian are of Greek origin. However, we are so used to them that we do not notice their foreign appearance. Pay attention to the words: notebook, teacher, school, Bible, Gospel, angel, apostle, icon, prosphora, catalog, anthology, reader, alphabet, era, echo, hero, politics, dialogue, archeology, morphology, syntax, phonetics, grammar, arithmetic, mathematics, fantasy. All these words are borrowed from Greek.

There are different ways of borrowing words:

direct borrowing
tracing.

Direct borrowing of Greek words

Consider the words: notebook, school, teacher, which came to us from the Greek language.

Each of them has its own story.

In the Old Russian language, the word "notebook" has been known since the 11th century. In ancient Russia, the word "notebook" scribes called four sheets of parchment, sewn together, from which a book was then obtained.

Interestingly, the word notebook comes from the Greek "tetraion", which had a similar meaning, although in more ancient times this word simply meant four. It could be four warriors, four horses, etc.

The history of the word school from the Greek "scholia" is interesting. Its original meaning is “leisure, free time, rest” and even “idleness, inactivity”. The ancient Greek philosopher Plato used it in a slightly different sense - "leisure activity, learned conversation." And later Plutarch used the word in the sense - "training session, exercise, lecture, school of philosophers." It is believed that this word got into the Russian language from the Polish language, and Polish, in turn, borrowed it from Latin.

The word teacher (from "pedagogos") literally means "teacher". In ancient Greece, this was originally the name of a slave who accompanied the boy to school and back; later - educator, mentor.

Tracing

All the words considered so far are borrowed directly from the Greek language. However, there is another way of borrowing - tracing.

Tracing is a morphemic translation of a word into another language (that is, a sequential translation of a prefix, root, suffix, ending). Words formed according to this model are called "tracing paper".

"Kalki" is the vast majority of two-root and multi-root words. Among them are words with the root “good”: complacency, goodness, piety, magnificence, prudence, reverence, euphony, mercy, fragrance, good deed, benefactor, grateful.

For example:

[ef] [psycho] [ia] good - soul - ie
[ef] [background] [ia] good - sound - ie

Another example is the word "indifferent", the history of which is very interesting. The Greek word was "isopsychos". The ancient Greeks used it in the sense of "same in spirit, unanimous." In the Old Slavonic language, a “tracing paper” was made from it, which was preserved in the Russian literary language:

equal (o) - shower - ny.

For a long time, this word was used in the meaning of "like-minded, like-minded." A.P. Chekhov used the word indifferent in the sense of "preserving an even state of mind, imperturbable." The modern understanding of this word - "indifferent, indifferent" - shows us how far we have moved away from its original meaning.

"Kalki" is truly a treasury of the Russian language and gives us the opportunity to feel the "element of Greek thinking." Here is a small list of these most poetic words: long-suffering, wonderworker, silverless, chronicle, painting, conscience, consciousness, doubt, life-giving, nameless, miraculous.

A noticeable trace was left by the Greekisms that came to Old Russian language mainly through the medium of Old Church Slavonic in connection with the process of Christianization Slavic states. Borrowings from the Greek language began to penetrate into the original vocabulary even in the period of common Slavic unity. Such borrowings include, for example, the words chamber, dish, cross, bread (baked), bed, cauldron, etc.

Borrowings were significant in the period from the 9th to the 11th centuries. and later (so

called East Slavic). The formation of the Old Russian (East Slavonic) language begins. To Greekisms period X-XVII centuries include:

words from the field of religion: anathema, angel, bishop, demon, icon, monk, monastery, lampada, sexton;
scientific terms: mathematics, philosophy, history, grammar;
household names: lime, sugar, bath, bench, notebook, lantern;
names of plants and animals: crocodile, buffalo, beans, cypress, cedar, beets, etc.;
words from the field of art and science (later borrowings): trochee, comedy, mantle, verse, logic, analogy, etc.;
part of the names widely used in Russia (Andrey, Peter, Alexander, Galina, Irina, etc.) have Greek origin. (church names from Orthodox saints);

many names of precious and semi-precious stones. Sometimes the name indicates the color of the stone. For example, chrysolite is “golden” (Greek), olivine is “green” (Greek), lapis lazuli is “sky blue” (Greek), etc. But sometimes their name is associated with certain properties that were attributed to these stones in antiquity. So, amethyst is translated from Greek as “non-drunk”: according to legends, this stone is able to “curb passions. And the word agate in Greek means "good", which he was supposed to bring to his owner.

Russia adopted the "Greek law", that is, Orthodoxy, which for centuries determined the cultural and historical development of our Fatherland.

Along with the new religion, many new words came to our country. The original meaning of many of them has long been forgotten, and few people know that an angel is a “messenger”, an apostle is a “messenger”, a clergy is a “lot”, an icon case is a “box”, a liturgy is a “duty”, a deacon is a “servant” , the bishop is “looking from above”, and the sexton is “watchman”. The word hero is also Greek and means "holy" - no more, no less!

The first books were delivered from Byzantium to Russia. The Enlighteners of the Slavs became eminent figures Byzantine Orthodox culture- holy brothers Cyril and Methodius. The first schools in Kyiv, Novgorod and other cities of Russia were arranged according to Byzantine models. Byzantine masters taught Russian craftsmen how to build stone temples, decorate these temples with mosaics and frescoes, paint icons, and create book miniatures.

For example, many Greek words describe the structure of the Temple. The Temple has three parts:

an altar containing an altar and a throne. The main part the temple is an altar, a holy place, so the uninitiated are not allowed to enter it. The very word "altar" means "exalted altar." He usually settles on a hill. True, some part of the altar is in front of the iconostasis. It is called the solea (Greek “elevation in the middle of the temple”), and its middle of the salt is called the pulpit (Greek “I ascend”). From the pulpit, the priest pronounces the most significant words during the service. The pulpit is symbolically very significant. This is also the mountain from which Christ preached; and the Bethlehem cave where he was born; and a stone from which an angel announced to the women about the ascension of Christ.
the middle part of the temple, separated from the altar by an iconostasis, in front of which, from the side of the middle part, there is a salt with an ambo and choirs, choirs are places for singers and readers. The very name of the kliros comes from the name of the choristers-priests “kliroshanes”, that is, choristers from the clergy, clergy (Greek “lot, put on”)
vestibule

It has been found that terms of Greek origin make up the terminology of almost all areas of science and art: biology (amitosis, autogenesis, anabiosis, anaphase, etc.) and, in particular, botany (anabasis, adonis, etc.), geology, and mineralogy (anamorphism, alexandrite, etc.), physics (acoustics, analyzers, anaphoresis, etc.), economics (anatocism, etc.), medicine (acrocephaly, anamnesis, etc.), psychology ( autophilia, etc.), astronomy (anagalactic, etc.), chemistry (ammonia, amphoteric, etc.), architecture (acroteria, etc.), geography (akline, etc.), music (agogics, etc.), literary criticism (acmeism, anapaest, etc.) and linguistics (anadiplosis, amphiboly, etc.). (Only examples from the section on the letter "A" are considered).

Let's start with terms that are close and familiar to any teacher of the Russian language and literature. The word poetry has become so firmly established in our language that we no longer even think about its meaning. And meanwhile, in translation from Greek, it means "creativity." The word poem is translated as "creation", and rhyme - "proportion", "consistency", the word rhythm is the same root to it. The stanza in Greek means “turn”, and the epithet is “figurative definition”.

With Ancient Greece such terms as epic (“collection of legends”), myth (“word”, “speech”), drama (“action”), lyrics (from the word musical), elegy (“mournful tune of a flute”), ode ( "song"), epithalama ("wedding poem or song"), epic ("word", "story", "song"), tragedy ("goat song"), comedy ("bear holidays"). Name latest genre associated with holidays Greek goddess Artemis, who coped in March. This month, the bears came out of hibernation, which gave the name to these performances. Well, the stage is, of course, the “tent”, where the actors performed. As for parody, it is “singing inside out”.

As an example of borrowings from the Greek language, we can cite such “medical” words as anatomy (“dissection”), agony (“struggle”), hormone (“I set in motion”), diagnosis (“definition”), diet (“image life”, “mode”), paroxysm (“irritation”).

Some Greek words got into Russian through other languages (for example, through Latin, French). There were cases when the same word came to our country from different languages and at different times, resulting in different meanings. For example, the words colossus, machination and machine have the same root. Two of them came to us directly from the Greek language. One of them means "something huge", the other - "trick". But the third came through the west European languages and is a technical term.

Along with this, Slavic scribes created words in their language according to the model of Greek words (the so-called word-formation tracing papers), hence the now obsolete word of wisdom, corresponding to Greek philosophy, and the word-forming tracing paper Mother of God, which has taken root, forever included in the language, also created according to the Greek word-formation model.

We see that Greekisms in Russian play huge role in creating a scientific picture of the world; this can be explained by the fact that it was in the ancient Greek works that the foundations of the scientific worldview were laid.