Understand the etymology (study of the origin and formation of words in a given language, according to the Michaelis Dictionary) is, above all, to propose a rather in-depth reflection on their existence. Thus, this aspect, at first, is only conditioned to the existence of other languages, from which a multitude of words that we know originated. However, it is worth mentioning that in addition to these influences there are also others, such as religion and mythology.
As we know, the latter represents a decisive feature for us to understand the peculiarities inherent to Greek civilization, since the historical, political and economic facts that refer to these peoples (the Greeks) were explained through legends and myths, since at that time reason, a determining factor of science, was not yet made. gift.
Based on this objective, the Greeks, taking advantage of their imaginative capacity, created different characters and mythological figures, such as heroes, gods and nymphs. Therefore, it is wrong to think that mythology is only present in literature, as we can also see it in great epics, series, movies and some games. It also influences the origin of certain words, as does religion. Let's see some examples:
Whiting
The whiting fish are typical of rocky shores and coral reefs, and can also be found in burrows. This denomination originated from the diminutive of abbotzinho, related to Spanish, once characterized by show similarities with the attire of the abbots - who represented the ruler of a given monastery.
Here, in the midst of this interim, we see the presence of the religious factor.
Freshman
Who never was a freshman one day? Certainly, all of us have recently joined this or that institution, whether in the workplace, school, university, among other social spheres. The term originates from the Greek calógeros, whose meaning is limited to pretty old or good old, This denomination was attributed, in the Greek church, to the monks of the Order of Saint Basil and to the hermits generally. The close relationship between monk and novice student is perhaps explained by the fact that students also live in republics, small communities.
Do not stop now... There's more after the advertising ;)
hate
Anyone who hates has an aversion to a particular person or something. Thus, it should be noted that the word originates from the Latin verb I will hate, whose meaning refers to "departing" from a person, having the gods as witnesses, which in Latin refers to testis.
Fair
A fair is understood to be a place open to the public where various products are sold. Its etymological roots are conditioned to Latin holiday, which means days of rest in honor of the gods. In Roman culture, each day of the week was dedicated to one of the seven deities represented by the seven planets, which, according to these peoples, moved around the Earth: Sun, Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn. Reason enough for the designation of the days of the week in the Latin languages, with the exception of our language, delineated by the bias of religion. Thus, Sunday represents the first fair, making reference to the Latin cousin vacation. The Sabbath, in turn, kept the Jewish name.
Dolphin
This term originates from the Greek Delphi through latin Delphinus. In Old Portuguese we can find dolfino, with the same semantic meaning. In terms of mythology, Delphi represented a Greek hero who named the holy city of Apollo, sometimes represented by the figure of a dolphin.
By Vânia Duarte
Graduated in Letters
Brazil School Team
Grammar - Brazil School