12 Greek Words You Should Know

Along with Latin, Greek is probably the language that most infuenced other
languages around the world. Many English words derive directly from Greek ones,
and knowing their origin and meaning is important.
elow you will !nd "# Greek words that are commonly used in our society. $he ne%t
time you hear someone saying &'udos to you,( you will know where it comes from.
1. Acme
$he highest point of a structure. $he peak or )enith of something. *ne could say that
+ome reached the acme of its power on "", A-, under the rule of $ra.an.
$he acme of modular, factory/built, passively safe reactor design, however, is found
in 0outh Africa. 1eople there have been e%perimenting with so/called pebble/bed
reactors for decades. 2$he Economist3
2. Acropolis
Acro means edge or e%tremity, while polis means city. Acropolis, therefore, refers to
cities that were built with security purposes in mind. $he word Acropolis is commonly
associated with Greece4s capital Athens, although it can refer to any citadel, including
+ome and 5erusalem.
$he ei.ing *lympics torch relay reached the ancient Acropolis in Athens on 0aturday
amid heavy police security and brief demonstrations by small groups of protesters.
26ew 7ork $imes3
3. Agora
$he Agora was an open market place, present in most cities of the ancient Greece.
$oday the term can be used to e%press any type of open assembly or congregation.
$he most characteristic feature of each settlement, regardless of its si)e, was a pla)a
8an open space that acted as a cemetery and may have been a marketplace. 9t was
also, the archaeologists suspect, a place of political assembly, .ust as the agora in an
ancient Greek city was both marketplace and legislature. 2$he Economist3
4. Anathema
Anathema is a noun and it means a formal ban, curse or e%communication. 9t can
also refer to someone or something e%tremely negative, disliked or damned.
:uriously enough, the original Greek meaning for this word was &something o;ered
to the gods.(
0ome thinkers argue that while collaboration may work for an online encyclopedia,
it4s anathema to original works of art or scholarship, both of which re<uire a point of
view and an authorial voice. 2=0A $oday3
5. Anemia
Anemia refers to a condition characteri)ed by a <ualitative or <uantitative de!ciency
of the red blood cells 2or of the hemoglobin3. *ver the years, however, the term
started to appear in other conte%ts, referring to any de!ciency that lies at the core of
a system or organi)ation.
9n comments to the -allas Morning 6ews, -allas >ed 1resident +ichard >isher, the
lone dissenter in last week4s decision to keep the federal funds target at #?, said the
=.0. faces &a sustained period of anemia( and that &in the second half of this year we
will broach )ero growth.( Last week >isher wanted higher rates, his !fth/straight
dissent in favor of tighter policy. 2$he @all 0treet 5ournal3
. !thos
$ranslated literally from the Greek, ethos means &accustomed place.( 9t refers to a
disposition or characteristics peculiar to a speci!c person, culture or movement.
0ynonyms include mentality, mindset and values.
:onsumerism needs this infantilist ethos because it favors la%ity and leisure over
discipline and denial, values childish impetuosity and .uvenile narcissism over adult
order and enlightened self/interest, and prefers consumption/directed play to
spontaneous recreation. 2Los Angeles $imes3
". #ogma
-ogma refers to the established belief or set of principles held by a religion, ideology
or by any organi)ation. -ogmas are also authoritative and undisputed. *utside of the
religious conte%t, therefore, the term tends to carry a negative connotation. 6otice
that the plural is either dogmata or dogmas.
9t4s not a new type of web, it4s .ust where the web has got to A it4s also a terri!c
e%cuse for much chatter on the blogging circuit, and a huge amount of dogmatism.
2>inancial $imes3
$. !ureka
$he e%clamation Eureka is used to celebrate a discovery, and it can be translated to
&9 have foundB(. 9t is attributed to the famous Greek mathematician Archimedes.
@hile taking a bath, he suddenly reali)ed that the water displaced must be e<ual to
the volume of the part of his body he had submerged. Ce got so e%cited with the
discovery that he left his home and started to run and shout &EurekaB( through the
streets of 0yracuse.
$hose eureka moments in the shower or on the bus when something suddenly starts
to make sense only happen if you keep plugging away. 2$he Guardian3
%. Genesis
Genesis means birth or origin. $here are many synonyms for this word, including
beginning, onset, start, spring, dawn and commencement. Genesis is also the name
of the !rst book of the ible.
And when Mr Mc:ain headed to the safe shoals of policy wonkery, Mr *bama fayed
his idea of calling for a commission to investigate the genesis of the !nancial crisis as
the resort of politicians who don4t know what else to do. 2$he Economist3
1&. 'ho(ia
Many people wrongly think that a phobia is a fear. 9n reality it is more than that.
1hobia is an irrational and e%aggerated fear of something. $he fear can be associated
with certain activities, situations, things or people.
1oorer communities have a phobia of undercooked food. Dery advanced societies
en.oy their !sh and meat either raw or very close to it. $o the >rench their idea of
cooking a steak is so perfunctory one might as well hack the thing o; the cow and
tuck in. 2>inancial $imes3
11. 'lethora
7ou have a plethora when you go beyond what is needed or appropriate. 9t represents
an e%cess or undesired abundance.
9n :alifornia, for e%ample, some neighborhoods have been blighted by the plethora of
empty homes. 5oe Minnis, a real estate agent for 1rudential :alifornia, knows
foreclosed homes in 0an ernardino that have been systematically stripped, trashed
and tagged by gang members. 2usiness @eek3
12. Kudos
'udos means fame or glory, usually resulting from an important act or achievement.
9t is interesting to notice that in Greek and in the 0tandard ritish English, 'udos is a
singular noun. 9nside the =nited 0tates, however, it is often used in a plural form
2e.g., You deserve many kudos for this accomplishment!3
$hey deserve the kudos because they could be deemed responsible for the marked
improvement in the commercials during 0uper owl EL last night. 26ew 7ork $imes3