Lesson II -
The Glory that Was Greece, the Grandeur that Was Rome
The ancient Greek and Roman world laid the foundation for many of our modern institutions and, as a legacy, we have Greek and Latin-derived words which deal with many different areas of human endeavor.
Government, Law & the Military
We owe a great debt to the Greek model of democratic government and to the
Greek – democracy, hegemony, theocracy, autocrat, plutocrat, oligarch
Latin – politics, legislature, legal, republic, congress, senate, representative, fascism, public, martial, encampment, capitol, many English legal and military terms are from Latin
Medicine
Greek - Most medical terms in English are from Greek: cardiology, pathology, pharmacology, hemodynamics, caduceus, Hippocratic, stethoscope, thermometer, pulmonology, bronchitis, trachea, hypodermic, epidermis
Latin – femur, cerebrum, humerous, disease,
Math & Engineering
Greek – geometry, protractor, polygon, diameter, radius, algorithm, logarithm, graph, dynamics
Latin – triangle, circle, volume, sum, subtract, calculus, aqueduct, ductile, conduct, function
The Arts
Greek – theater, drama, comedy, humor, tragedy, poetry, meter, metaphor, parody, pathos, pathetic, epigram, epitaph,
Latin – verse, farce, simile, satire, depiction,
Philosophy & Science
Greek – philosophy, physics, metaphysics, agnostic, atheist, geology, meteor, pedagogy, didactic, photosynthesis,
Latin – religion, astronomy, canine, feline, bovine,
Many scientific genus and species names are from Greek and Latin.
Religion & Mythology
The Christian Bible was written in Greek and then translated into Latin. Many religious terms from Greek and Latin came into English through its exposure to Christianity.
Greek – prophet, catechism, synagogue, cathedral, theology, christen
Latin – religion, names of the months