Oizys – Greek Word for the Concept of Misery and Suffering
In ancient Greek, “oizys” (όιζυς) means all that is wretched and is synonymous with distress and misery. In Greek mythology it was the name of the little-known Oizys, a minor goddess or...
Category: Untranslatable Greek Words
Kudos – The Ancient Greek Word for Bravo – Well Done
Here’s yet another Greek word used frequently in English today taken from ancient Greek: Kudos (κῦδος – kydos), meaning praise and honour received for an achievement. Synonyms of Kudos: Prestige –...
Philoxenia – Greek Hospitality – The Myth of Baucis and Philemon
The Greek word “Xenia” meaning foreigner or stranger and “Philoxenia”, meaning “friend to a stranger”, are both words which depict the Ancient Greek idea of hospitality. It was extremely important to the...
Eutopia – Utopia – A Greek Neverland?
The word Utopia; used to describe an imaginary island, a perfect world, was first used by Sir Thomas More, an English lawyer, writer and statesman, in his book “Utopia”, written in 1516....
Draconian – The Brutal Laws of Draco of Ancient Athens
The word, draconian (δρακόντειος – drakónteios), meaning harsh, severe, cruel and drastic, is used in English and other European languages but its origins are Greek. Draconian derives from Draco (also called Drako or...
The Greek Phrase – “I Throw a Black Stone Behind Me”
We’ve all had that feeling of ‘I never want to go back there ’ or ‘I never want to see that accursed place again’; a Greek’s response to this, may be to...
Abraxas – Abracadabra – Greek Magic!
The magic word, abracadabra, often spoken with great gusto and the wave of a magic wand, just before a rabbit is pulled out of a hat, may have Greek origins, in the...
The Word Panic Originates From the Greek God Pan
The word Panic, Panikos in Greek, meaning a sudden sensation of fear, overwhelming anxiety or agitation; a feeling so strong as to often block out reasonable and logical behavior, is derived from...
20 of the Funniest Greek Expressions
Greek isn’t one of the easiest foreign languages to master especially when it comes to everyday quips and wisecrack expressions and sayings and idioms. Unless you are Greek or have lived in...
Meaning of Euphoria – A Greek State of Ecstacy
Euphoria, an overwhelming, pleasurable, emotion, is an ancient Greek word, a noun, from the Greek ‘eu’, meaning well and ‘phero’, meaning to bear, or, to carry. The opposite of euphoria, is dysphoria,...
