Wordsmith.org: the magic of words

Wordsmith Talk

About Us | What's New | Search | Site Map | Contact Us  

Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Page 2 of 4 1 2 3 4
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
from whence poly = selling? I thought poly was "many"?


formerly known as etaoin...
Buffalo Shrdlu #188924 01/25/10 04:28 PM
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290
from whence poly = selling? I thought poly was "many"?

Greek distinguishes between long and short vowels. Greek πωλη (pōlē) 'sale', πωλέω (pōleō) 'to exchange, sell' (link) and πολύς (polus) 'many' (link). The -y in the English words comes from the Greek -ια (-ia).


Ceci n'est pas un seing.
zmjezhd #188925 01/25/10 04:48 PM
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 95
journeyman
Offline
journeyman
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 95
Taking a que from a Boy Scout Merit Bagde, how about... THEOORIENTEERING... for finding or discovering the pathway to God? The compass being scripture.

Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Mar 2000
Posts: 6,511
Originally Posted By: Faldage

Meanwhile I came up with theodactyl to describe the focal point of Michelangelo's Creation fo Adam.



Love this.

zmjezhd #188928 01/25/10 05:33 PM
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 3,290
I was curious about what cognates for the Greek πωλη (pōlē) 'sale' existed in other Indo-European languages. Ther are a few: an older German word, feil, Old Norse falr 'venal, for sale', Russian полон (polon) 'captivity; booty', Lithuanian pelnas 'earnings', from PIE *pel- 'to sell; to earn'.


Ceci n'est pas un seing.
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 1
L
stranger
Offline
stranger
L
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 1
Wonderful topic! Here's something I've wondered about for years, help me out. A "lego" word for the process whereby reality/god/the cosmos/ whatever it is appears to answer questions in the exact vernacular in which they were posed. Kepler mentions this in his writings, but doesn't coin a word for it. He calls it something like "God speaks to us in the language we can understand."

Examples are why/how so many diverse "religions" (or inquiries) seem to "work" : voodoo, Shakerism, Shamanism,the I Ching, reading cowrie shells, Platonism, reading bird's entrails, etc., etc. Why/how so many cosmologies seem to be the only reasonable answer. And so on.

Can anyone come up with a word for what "God/Nature/Guidance/Whatever" is doing?

LOU

Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 9,915
Likes: 2
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 9,915
Likes: 2


Keeping us guessing???


----please, draw me a sheep----
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 5,295
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2006
Posts: 5,295
Hagiography or hagiographics : the holy writings of nature / life.

Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 95
journeyman
Offline
journeyman
Joined: Sep 2009
Posts: 95
How about theolatrigony? the origin of God worship?

Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
Carpal Tunnel
Offline
Carpal Tunnel
Joined: Jun 2002
Posts: 7,210
Originally Posted By: zmjezhd
from whence poly = selling? I thought poly was "many"?

Greek distinguishes between long and short vowels. Greek πωλη (pōlē) 'sale', πωλέω (pōleō) 'to exchange, sell' (link) and πολύς (polus) 'many' (link). The -y in the English words comes from the Greek -ια (-ia).


okey doke. thanks.

so, thee ah puh lee and thee ah poh lee?


formerly known as etaoin...
Page 2 of 4 1 2 3 4

Moderated by  Jackie 

Link Copied to Clipboard
Forum Statistics
Forums16
Topics13,912
Posts229,271
Members9,179
Most Online3,341
Dec 9th, 2011
Newest Members
TRIALNERRA, befuddledmind, KILL_YOUR_SUV, Heather_Turey, Standy
9,179 Registered Users
Who's Online Now
1 members (A C Bowden), 285 guests, and 4 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Top Posters(30 Days)
Top Posters
wwh 13,858
Faldage 13,803
Jackie 11,613
tsuwm 10,542
wofahulicodoc 10,502
LukeJavan8 9,915
AnnaStrophic 6,511
Wordwind 6,296
of troy 5,400
Disclaimer: Wordsmith.org is not responsible for views expressed on this site. Use of this forum is at your own risk and liability - you agree to hold Wordsmith.org and its associates harmless as a condition of using it.

Home | Today's Word | Yesterday's Word | Subscribe | FAQ | Archives | Search | Feedback
Wordsmith Talk | Wordsmith Chat

© 1994-2024 Wordsmith

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5