January was a good reading month. My methodical approach to reading this book definitely slows down the momentum but it’s been a worthwhile exercise. I’m starting to get the itch to read books that don’t fall under the reference genre but not rushing things along is a welcome break from the pace of the rest of my life at the moment.I decided to track the number of word roots coming from sources other than Greek and Latin. To be more specific, I’m lumping Low Latin, Middle Latin and New Latin together with Latin. New Latin may be the one source that you could argue against me ignoring for my tally but it’s all Latin to me and I grew bored with Latin while reading the dictionary. I’m also not counting anything that comes from Greek or Latin mythology or Greek and Latin formal names.
The number of non-Greek and non-Latin word roots surprised me a little but not very many of them stood out in ways beyond just being not Greek or Latin. I did come up with a few notable word roots to share with you, so let’s get to it.
Aedoe & Aidoi- Both of these roots come from Greek and both of them mean either to regard with reverence or the genitals. Either the Greeks were a bunch of perverts or they regarded their genitals with great reverence. I’d love to know how this split-meaning came to light.
Aig & Aix- Another split-meaning root. Once again, both come from Greek. They can mean either a goat or waterfowl. I’m not always the most observant person alive, but I’m pretty sure that I’ve never gotten goats and waterfowl mixed up in my head before. How on earth did the Greeks settle on leaving these two animals under the same word root? Maybe the Greeks were lazy perverts.
Alkali- This was the first non-G/L word that got my attention. As a lover of science, I’m familiar with the word root and some of the words that come from it. I did not know it was of Arabic origin. I checked back through my dictionary write-ups to see if it stood out to me all those years ago but it must not have registered then.
Arch- Depending on which vowel or consonant structure you follow this Greek root with, it could have four different meanings. Two meanings, ancient and first/beginning, go hand in hand and make sense. The other two? Not so much. Arch- can be the start of something that means chief/principal/superior/ruler or it can be the start of something that means the rectum or anus. A word root that puts rulers and rectums under the same umbrella? Perhaps the Greeks were lazy perverts with a sense of humor.
Candidat- My root words dictionary made this term and its meaning a little misleading. It’s Latin and means clothed in white. It’s easy to assume that this is some kind of reference to purity but you know what happens when you assume. Rather than suggesting that those running for office are pure in heart or conviction, this root word comes from the fact that candidates in ancient Rome wore white togas. This probably helped them stand out from the rest of the populace, inviting questions.
Corolla- Ever wonder what the Toyota model’s name means? It means a little crown or wreath. They’re not the biggest cars, so a diminutive crown be what they were going for. If they wanted to name a car after a wreath, then I’ve got nothing to say about that.
Echel- A French word root meaning ladder. That makes sense when you think of the term echelon.
Galax- This Greek word root means milky. It makes sense that the ancient Greeks, lacking anything close to the light pollution we have today, would think that the portion of our home here in the universe that’s visible in the night sky resembles milk. But does that mean that the phrase Milky Way Galaxy is redundant?
Galen- Yet another Greek root word. It should come as no surprise why I was drawn to this one. It means calm or restful. It can also mean lead ore, so consider this one another baffling split-meaning term. For the record, I consider myself more similar to calm and rest than lead ore.
Non-Greek/Latin Word Roots So Far: 67
Page Count: 61/142 (42.96%)
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