The Greek & Latin Roots of English (36 page)

Cosmic Glue

Ancient philosophers believed that the heavenly bodies were composed of a fifth element and that this substance, which Aristotle called ether, was hidden in all matter. In medieval philosophical treatises this fifth element was called the
quinta essentia
. What is the current meaning of the word
quintessence?

ether (αἰθήρ) = heaven, sky

(sum)-esse-futurum — be, exist

You'd Better Stay Home

The words
disaster, dismal
, and
influenza
all have their roots in the belief that the heavenly bodies have the power to affect our lives.

Disaster
=
dis
- (apart, away from) +
astrum
(star)

Dismal
. The Romans believed that certain days (
dies
) were unlucky (
mali
) because of the influence of the stars.

Influenza
. Based on the belief that the disease was caused by the effect of the heavenly bodies on human beings. (The Italian
influenza
is derived from
influo-influere
= flow into.)

Look, Up in the Sky. It's a Bird …

The names of most of the planets in our solar system bear the names of the divinities whom the ancient Romans believed ruled over them. Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn had been observed by ancient astronomers, but it was not until the late eighteenth century that another celestial body, previously thought to be a comet, was recognized as a planet. After much argument, it was named Uranus, after the Greek god of the sky.

CHEMISTRY

Nature delights in nature, and nature conquers nature, and nature masters nature
.

BOLOS (second-century BCE scientist),
Physica

Modern chemistry and medieval alchemy have the same etymological root, but their aims are very different. The alchemist sought to transform “base” metals into gold, thereby transforming himself from a base being into one who was spiritually purified. The goal of at least some alchemical practitioners was to discover the philosopher's stone, or the
elixir vitae
, the substance that was capable of effecting this transformation. Although many chemical compounds were discovered and many laboratory instruments that are still used were invented in this search, the modern science of chemistry asserts that it is much more modest in its goals: it is the study of the compositions and properties of substances and the reactions by which they are produced and changed.

Sarcophagus of a child (Kayseri Museum, Turkey)

The Elements

Although modern chemistry defines the term
element
to mean the basic substances that cannot be broken down into simpler ones by chemical means, the more common ancient view was that there were four elements that comprised the cosmos: earth, air, fire, and water.

Modern chemistry recognizes over 100 elements; they exist in the form of solids, liquids, and gases. In the periodic table, many elements are represented by abbreviations of their Latin names.

Other elements have names that are drawn from Greek and Roman mythology:

Eponyms

Although many elements take their names from Greek and Latin roots, some are
eponymous
, e.g., fermium, einsteinium, curium, and mendelevium. From what Greek word is
eponymous
derived, and what does it mean?

Biochemistry

Sugar is sweet, and so are you …

Biochemistry is that branch of chemistry that deals with living matter. The human body has proved to be a highly sophisticated chemistry lab that is constantly breaking down organic compounds (nutrients) so they may be used by the body, which produces various enzymes that act as catalysts in this process. During digestion, for example, carbohydrates are converted into glucose, a sugar.

Mistaken Identity

Antoine Lavoisier, the French chemist who in 1775 identified the element necessary for combustion, mistakenly thought that it was present in all acids. Therefore, he named it
oxygen
(causing sharpness).

Please Don't Drink the Water

In modern chemistry, the term
aqua
means not only water, but liquid. Before you fill your glass, you should know the following deadly drinks:

aqua fortis
(strong water) = nitric acid

aqua regia
(royal water) = a mixture of hydrochloric and nitric acids that possesses the ability to dissolve gold

PHYSICS

Panta Rhei
(“all things flow”)

HERACLITUS (sixth-century BCE Greek philosopher)

The modern science of physics deals with the properties, changes, and interactions of matter and energy; but to the ancient Greeks, physics was the inclusive study of natural science or natural philosophy. Modern physics includes the fields of mechanics, optics, and thermodynamics.

Mechanics

The path up and path down are one and the same
.

HERACLITUS (sixth-century BCE Greek philosopher)

Mechanics
is that branch of physics that deals with motion and the action of force on bodies. The history of mechanics proves that not all science takes place in the laboratory. According to popular tradition, Galileo investigated the relative speed of falling bodies by dropping differing weights from the top of the Leaning Tower of Pisa; Isaac Newton is said to have been inspired to formulate his theories about the laws of gravity and motion after watching an apple fall from a tree. And then, of course, there was the third-century BCE Greek scientist Archimedes, who formulated the principle that a body immersed in fluid is buoyed up by a force equal to the weight of the fluid displaced. He is said to have been lying in his bath when he made the discovery, and to have jumped up, naked, and run into the street, shouting “Eureka!” (εὕρηκα = I have found [it]!).

Optics

I seem to see two suns blazing in the heavens
.

EURIPIDES (fifth-century BCE Athenian playwright),
The Bacchae