The Greek & Latin Roots of English (28 page)

Because the land was poor, and perhaps because life at home was sometimes dangerous, sometimes dull, the Greeks often left home to seek their fortunes. Perhaps the most famous Greek adventurer was the mythical hero Odysseus; but others sought an easier and, perhaps, more profitable life in Asia Minor, the home not only of the legendary king Midas, but also of Croesus, the sixth-century BCE Lydian king who is credited with having invented money.

The conquests of Alexander the Great in the fourth century BCE extended the Greek view as far as India; and where Greek armies went, traders and merchants soon followed. Although Alexander's empire did not outlast his lifetime, contact between East and West continued in the Roman period. The profits generated by the sale of agricultural products, such as grain and olive oil, as well as the demand for expensive luxury goods, allowed at least a few Romans to accumulate a great deal of money. The government held the monopolies on some industries; but, by and large, business was a matter of “caveat emptor.”

Those few Romans who could afford it (and some who could not) often indulged in conspicuous consumption and an opulent lifestyle. Consumer debt and fraud were probably invented by the Romans; and by late antiquity, inflation was rampant and prices sky-high. Moneylenders charged extremely high rates of interest to those who were insolvent and on the edge of bankruptcy. A coherent fiscal policy, including a budget, seems to have been nonexistent throughout most of Roman history. In order to meet its obligations (and the indulgences of its emperors), the state raised money through a variety of means, including expropriation of property; conquest; and, of course, taxation. The eventual collapse of the Roman economy is a depressingly all-too-familiar story.

Bound captive (Hadrian's Forum, Rome)

She's Worth Her Salt

Roman soldiers were given an allowance to buy salt
(sal, salis)
, an important commodity in the ancient world, and used primarily as a preservative. The allowance was called a
salarium
. The word was then applied to any payment for work.

Let This Be a Warning to You

The first mint in Rome was located in the temple of Juno Moneta, so named, the Romans believed, because when the city had been threatened with invasion, the sacred geese of the goddess had warned them.

moneo-monēre-monitum
= warn?

Mary Had a Little Lamb

In the ancient world, before the “invention” of money, wealth was measured by one's material possessions, especially flocks of sheep or herds of cattle. The word for “herd” or “flock” thus became the etymological root of the Latin word for “money.” That which belonged to you was your
peculium
(private property).

pecu
= flock, herd

>
pecunia, pecuniae
= money

And in Conclusion, a Word from Our Sponsor

The ancient economy seems to have managed quite well without the aid of advertising, subliminal or otherwise, although some of the Roman emperors probably could have used some media enhancement and better public-service announcements to improve their image.

NAME _______________________________________________________________________

A. Answer each question or fill in the blanks with the literal meaning of the italicized word. Make sure that the sentence is grammatically correct. If you are unsure of the meaning, check your unabridged dictionary.

1.
Empirical
knowledge comes from __________.

2. The teacher said I was a
paradigm
of good behavior, a __________to be followed.

3. A
systemic
infection affects the __________of the body.

4. When I was
absolved
of the crime, I was __________ __________any blame.

5. A
significant
event __________ __________on history.

6. When asked to
mod
erate her voice, she began to speak in __________tones.

7. She gave me a
schematic
drawing of the machine, so that I could see its __________.

8. An
impecuni
ous person has __________ __________.

9. What is the connection between a herd of cows and money? ____________________

10.
Tangible
results are__________ __________.

11. A
merc
enary individual is interested only in __________.

12. What is the literal meaning of
topography
? __________ __________What is its current usage? __________

13. Our
tact
ile sense is stimulated by __________.

14. An
adher
ent __________ __________his beliefs.

15. New York City may be called an
emporium
because it is a __________ of ideas.

16. In a
conflation
of accounts of an event, the details have been __________ __________.

17. What is the difference in meaning between
appropriate
(verb) and
appropriate
(adjective)? __________________________________________________

18. A
lucr
ative business is one that shows a __________.

19. We now use the word
mediocre
in a pejorative way. What is its literal meaning? __________ What is its current usage? ______________________________________________________

20. You
defrauded
me of my life savings when you took them __________ me by__________.

21. What is the literal meaning of
despondent
? __________ __________What is its current usage? __________ Can you figure out how it came to take on this usage? _____________________________________________________________________

22. When medical science looks for the
etio
logy of a disease, it is seeking its __________.

23. What are two different usages of
cultivate
? __________; __________

24.
Subliminal
advertising influences us by going __________ __________ of our consciousness.

25. What is the literal meaning of the term
macroeconomics
? ____________________What is its current usage? ______________________________

26. Where is
Utopia
? ____________

B. Everywhere I turn …

What are the literal meanings and current usages of each of the following words?

C. Fold in the following prefixes …