20個起源於希臘的英文單詞（上）
你知道怎樣講希臘語嘛？英語中有150000個單詞起源於希臘，本篇文章提供20個起源於希臘的單詞。
1. Acrobat
雜技演員
From the word akri (άκρη, "tip" or "edge") and the verb vaino (βαίνω, "to walk"), an acrobat is someone who walks on the edge, almost on tiptoe.
起源於單詞akri（“末梢”或者“邊緣”）以及vaino（“走”），雜技演員是幾乎用腳趾走在邊緣的人。
2．Cemetery
墓地
It took me some time to realize that this word comes from Greek. A lot of words disguise themselves as Old French or Latin but cemetery in fact comes from the word koimame (κοιμάμαι, "to sleep") which is also the root of the Greek word koimitirion (κοιμητήριο, "dormitory"). A cemetery is a dormitory for the dead!
我花了很長時間才意識到這個詞起源於希臘。許多單詞都把它們自己僞裝成古法語或者拉丁語，但是事實上cemetery起源於單詞koimame（“睡覺”），希臘詞koimitirion（“宿舍”）也起源於“koimame”這個詞。墓地是死者的安息之地。
cism
犬儒主義
Cynicism comes from the Cynics, a school of Ancient Greek philosophers. But the name probably derives from a public gymnasium called Cynosarges, where one of Socrates’ pupils taught. According to one myth, the Athenians were in the middle of making an offering to Heracles when a dog snatched the animal and deposited it near the location where the gymnasium was later built.
Cynicism由單詞Cynics演化而來，Cynics是古希臘哲學家的一個派別。 但是這個名字很可能是起源於一個名爲Cynosarges的公衆體育館，蘇格拉底的一個學生曾經在那裏教過學。據神話記載，當雅典赫拉克勒斯獻祭時，一隻狗抓住動物並把它放在了獻祭地點的附近，後來那附近就建了一個這樣的體育館。
cracy
民主
Everyone’s favorite word, democracy — from demos (δήμος, "people") and kratos (κράτος, "power") — is simply put: Power to the People!
每一個人都喜歡這個詞，民主 — 起源於demos（“人民”）以及kratos（“權力”）— 二者很簡單的被放到一起：權力屬於人民！
5．Dinosaur
恐龍
What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of a dinosaur? According to Greek, a dinosaur is a lizard from deinos (δεινός, "terrible") and savra (σαύρα, "lizard").
當提到恐龍，你腦海裏第一個浮現的是什麼？據希臘語記載，恐龍是一種類蜥蜴爬行動物，這個詞起源於deinos（“可怕的”）和savra（“類蜥蜴爬行動物”）。
pe
歐洲
According to Ancient Greek mythology, Europe was a mythological princess, with big, beautiful eyes, from evrys (ευρύς, "broad") and ops (ωψ, "eye"). Zeus fell in love with her and, to approach her, he transformed himself into a white bull. Europe sat on the bull and was taken on a faraway trip to what is today Europe. If you have just come back from Greece you may have this little piece of mythology lying somewhere in your wallet, as the story of Europe and the bull is depicted on the Greek 2-Euro coin.
據古希臘神話記載，Europe是一個神話裏的公主，眼睛大大的很漂亮。這個詞起源於evry（“寬的，大的”）和ops（“眼睛”）。宙斯愛上了她，爲了接近她他把自己僞裝成一頭白牛，她騎着白牛遠行去了今天的歐洲。如果你剛剛從希臘回來，你會發現這段神話可能就在你錢包的某處，因爲這段故事被印在兩歐元的硬幣上。
7. Galaxy
銀河
Galaxy, a.k.a. Milky Way comes from the Greek word for milk, gala (γάλα). According to Ancient Greek mythology , the Milky Way was created by Heracles, son of Zeus, when he tried to suckle on his step-mother’s milk while she slept. When Hera woke up to discover that she was breastfeeding an infant that was not her own, she pushed the child away, causing the milk to spurt into the universe. Galaxy又被稱爲Milky Way,起源於希臘單詞milk, gala。
據古希臘神話記載，銀河由宙斯的兒子赫拉克勒斯創造，他那時還是一個嬰兒，他試圖在繼母睡着的時候吸吮她的奶，但是當神後赫拉醒來時發現她哺乳的並不是自己的孩子，她便把孩子推開，這樣就導致奶水流到了宇宙。
aphrodite
雌雄同體
Another one from the Ancient Greeks, Hermaphrodite was the son of Gods Hermes and Aphrodite. As the most handsome man in the world, he became the object of affection of nymph Salmacis who prayed to the Gods that they stay together forever. The Gods heard her prayer and joined the two in one body.
這是來自於古希臘的另一個單詞，Hermaphrodite是赫耳墨斯和阿佛洛狄特的兒子。作爲世界上最帥氣的人，他成爲女神薩耳瑪西斯的愛戀對象，薩耳瑪西斯向上帝祈禱希望他們能夠永遠在一起，上帝聽到了她的祈禱便把兩個人合爲一體。
thon
馬拉松
A marathon is a long-distance footrace and there are thousands of marathons taking place every year around the world. Officially, a marathon is 42.1 km (or 26.1 miles) long, in a nod to the actual distance between the cities of Marathon and Athens.
馬拉松是長途競走，每年在世界各地都會有許多場馬拉松。據官方統計，一場馬拉松有42.1千米，是馬拉松到雅典兩個城市間的距離。
alade
果醬
Although dictionaries will tell you that the word comes from Portuguese, it, in fact, comes from the Greek words meli (μέλι, "honey") and milo (μήλο, "apple") or sweet apple/fruit. Another source says that Ancient Greeks liked cooking quinces, which are known in Portuguese as marmelos, with honey.
雖然據詞典記載這個詞起源於葡萄牙，事實上這個詞起源於希臘詞彙meli（“蜂蜜”）以及milo（“蘋果”）或者甜的蘋果或者水果。另一種說法就是古希臘人喜歡用蜂蜜煮柑橘，這在葡萄牙語中以marmelos這個名字出現。
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