How do you translate the word ‘dreamer’ in Greek?

By: | Post date: 2016-06-26 | Comments: No Comments
Posted in categories: Linguistics, Modern Greek

This couldn’t be another Google Translate question from…

…. yes! Anon! Strikes again!

ονειροπόλος. Which actually originally meant interpreter of dreams. The Triantafyllides dictionary Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής says the meaning switch is via French rêvasseur—which implies, at least, that this Homeric word was reimported into Modern Greek, incorrectly, to fill a gap identified by a French word. And that makes it an instance of those false friend borrowings Aziz Dida has been asking for (What are some “mistakenly borrowed” words in your language (“false friends)?)

No, Anon. No pronunciation key for you. I don’t think you’ve earned it.

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