Subscribe to Blog via Email
Archive:
Day: April 5, 2017
Is the culture on Corfu any different than in the rest of Greece considering it was never occupied by the Ottomans?
I’ve wanted to know the answer to this question bad enough, that I want to spend time in Corfu or Zante next time I’m in Greece. Though as a friend has justly pointed out to me, there’s no way I’d grok the cultural differences between the Ionian Islands and the rest of Greece as a […]
In “whosoever looks upon a woman to lust after her,” might that ‘to’ indicate a purpose clause?
To corroborate John Simpson’s answer to In “whosoever looks upon a woman to lust after her,” might that ‘to’ indicate a purpose clause?: The Greek literally says Ἐγὼ δὲ λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι πᾶς ὁ βλέπων γυναῖκα πρὸς τὸ ἐπιθυμῆσαι αὐτῆς, ἤδη ἐμοίχευσεν αὐτὴν ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ αὑτοῦ, “towards the desiring of her”. That “towards” is […]
How did the world’s major countries all conform to using first and last names from an early era?
Surname – Wikipedia Surnames seems to have been invented independentishly in Europe at a similar time: they were reintroduced after the Roman three-way names fell out of use in the West. From Wikipedia, I see it’s a messy web of transmission. Wikipedia suggests (not very loudly) that the Modern Western notion of surnames was transmitted […]
Are “humility” and “humiliate” related?
Yes. Using tools from Online Etymology Dictionary: Humilis is Latin for humble. Humble is Old French humble < *humle < *humile < humilis. Humility is from Latin humilitas “humbleness”, which comes from humilis. Humiliate is to make someone feel like crap: you’re humbling them, you’re making them feel low (which is actually what humilis originally […]