Classical Studies 2800A/B Lecture Notes - Shorthand, Helicoid, Gyne
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Published on 2 Dec 2011
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More Greek Nouns
Words with Multiple Forms of the Stem
• Most verbs and adjectives have only one form. A number of them have multiple
forms.
◦ex. aner, andros > andr- meaning man
◦ex. gyne, gynaikos > gyn-, gynec- meaning woman
◦ex. fos, fotos > phos-, phot-, meaning light
Greek Prefixes: Assimilation
• A lot of Greek prefixes end in a vowel - when a prefix ended in a vowel and the
following stem began with a vowel or "h", the final vowel of the prefix often
dropped off
◦ex. ap-helion
◦ex. a-theist - not or without God
• A final consonant of a prefix usually assimilated to an initial consonant of the
following stem.
◦ex. Syn-onymous
◦ex. Sym-metry
◦ex. Sym-phony
◦ex. Apo-cryphal
Hybrids
• Have some Greek parts and some Latin parts - these are not at all common.
◦ex. Television - Tele > G. far away, vis. > L. see, ion > L. act of
◦ex. Automobile - Auto > G. itself, mobile > L. moving.
◦ex. Petroleum
◦Pedophile - Ped- > G. child, phile - excessively fond however Ped- could
also be L. for foot.
Suffix -ine, -in
• L. -ine is often attached to animals and is from L. inus, ex. feline
• In Greek, this tends to create chemical compounds ex. toxin
• It is often attached to Latin and Greek stems
◦ex. Insulin is L. for pertaining to islands
◦Penicillin - ill means little, peni is penis
◦Ex. Chlorine
◦Ex. Cocaine
◦Ex. Margarin
Greek Combining Forms:
• -oeidos -o- + eidos (idol): "resembling, form, shape, appearance"
◦ex. asteroid
◦ex. helicoid
• Combining forms < G. graph- (to write)
◦ex. Telegraph, polygraph, seismograph, autograph, photograph
◦-graphy (process of writing) - geography, historiography, stenography,
calligraphy