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Iasadih Posted 12 years ago
Vocabulary
How to check "deep etymology" of English words - or the birth of concepts?
I am curious when certain abstract ideas were given name in human languages.
Let's take the word "reality". According to
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=reality
it appeared in English in mid 16th century, but it came from Latin. Alas, google found no etymological dictionary of Latin.
1. Is it possible to trace the origins of Latin and Old Greek words online?
2. How could it be told, when the concept itself appeared in English? After all. the word "reality" could have replaced another existing one.
Let's take the word "reality". According to
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=reality
it appeared in English in mid 16th century, but it came from Latin. Alas, google found no etymological dictionary of Latin.
1. Is it possible to trace the origins of Latin and Old Greek words online?
2. How could it be told, when the concept itself appeared in English? After all. the word "reality" could have replaced another existing one.
Top answer
iasadih 1. Is it possible to trace the origins of Latin and Old Greek words online? com / iasadih 2.
- iasadih 1.
- Is it possible to trace the origins of Latin and Old Greek words online?
- com / iasadih 2.
- How could it be told, when the concept itself appeared in English?
- After all.
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8 Answers
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iasadih1. Is it possible to trace the origins of Latin and Old Greek words online?Some older references appear in the Online Etymology Dictionary: http://www.etymonline.com/
iasadih2. How could it be told, when the concept itself appeared in English? After all. th
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2. I meant some other term which could be replaced by a derivative of Latin "realis".
In other words, etymological dictionary traces back the words existing now, but of their predecessors it gives no clue. I am interested in some internet source or field of liguistics which deals with the origins of concepts. Is there such?
In other words, etymological dictionary traces back the words existing now, but of their predecessors it gives no clue. I am interested in some internet source or field of liguistics which deals with the origins of concepts. Is there such?
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Hi
There's no easy way of answering a question like that - partly because English has so many roots and partly because recorded history doesn't go back that far. You can only do your own research on each word
The expression 'real estate' links to 'royal estate'
The word 'reality' is almost certainly linked to royalty, in which case it may mean something like 'the entire
There's no easy way of answering a question like that - partly because English has so many roots and partly because recorded history doesn't go back that far. You can only do your own research on each word
The expression 'real estate' links to 'royal estate'
The word 'reality' is almost certainly linked to royalty, in which case it may mean something like 'the entire
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iasadihI am curious when certain abstract ideas were given name in human languages.If you are looking for abstract ideas, rather than the words that only imperfectly represent them, then you have to delve into the history of philosophy.
For the concept of reality (metaphysics), the best source is Plato, who explored and developed the concept from earlier
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dave_anonThe word 'reality' is almost certainly linked to royalty, in which case it may mean something like 'the entirety of that which belongs to the person whom I worship'Really?
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OK, real, as in tennis, is regalis from rex; and real, as in reality, is realis, from res
Perhaps I was conjecturing too far
Dave
Perhaps I was conjecturing too far
Dave
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Search in philosophy - yes, that seems the right way. Maybe at a philosophy forum there will be someone able to say what reality was called at that time. And nihilism.
I want to know because such terms appear in translations of ancient oriental scriptures, which makes me wonder what concept stood behind what the translator approximates as "nihilism" (term coined in 19th century by Fredric
I want to know because such terms appear in translations of ancient oriental scriptures, which makes me wonder what concept stood behind what the translator approximates as "nihilism" (term coined in 19th century by Fredric
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If you followed the link I put in the prior post, you will see some of these early Greek words:
Metaphysics, or alternatively ontology, is that branch of philosophy whose special concern is to answer the question ‘What is there?’ These expressions derive from Aristotle, Plato's student. In a collection of his works, the most detailed treatise on the general topic of things that are co
Metaphysics, or alternatively ontology, is that branch of philosophy whose special concern is to answer the question ‘What is there?’ These expressions derive from Aristotle, Plato's student. In a collection of his works, the most detailed treatise on the general topic of things that are co
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