The Odyssey of words First unit: music 1. Μουσική Music got its name from the word «Μούσα» (Greek pronunciation Moussa) = "Muse". The Muses were nine deities of mountains and water. They are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts in Greek mythology. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the poetry, lyric and songs. They were daughters of Zeus, the second generation king of the gods, and the offspring of Mnemosyne, goddess of memory. They were later adopted by the Romans as a part of their pantheon. In current English usage, "muse" can refer in general to a person who inspires an artist, writer, or musician. Their names are as follows: Muse Calliope Clio Euterpe Erato Melpomene Polyhymnia Terpsichore Thalia Urania
Domain Epic poetry History Music, Song, and Lyric Poetry Love poetry Tragedy Hymns Dance Comedy Astronomy
2. Μελωδία The word melody is produced from two words: the word "μέλος» (Greek pronunciation melos), that means choral song and the word "ωδή" (Greek pronunciation odi or ody) meaning poem which was sung with accompaniment of lyre.
3. Ρυθμός The word rhythm is produced by the Greek verb «ρέω» (Greek pronunciation reeo) that means flow.
4. Ύμνος Hymn is an ancient Greek word (Greek pronunciation: hymnos).
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The Odyssey of words 5. Αρμονία The word harmony comes from the Greek verb «αρμόττω» (Greek pronunciation armόto) meaning: fit together. In ancient Greek religion, Armonia is the immortal goddess of peace, harmony and concord. Her Roman counterpart is Concordia. Her parents are the Goddess of Love, Aphrodite, and the God of War, Ares. Harmony married Cadmus, king of Thebes, and all the gods went to their wedding with brilliant gifts. But luck was not good since several of their children and grandchildren died. So Cadmus and Harmony asked the gods to transform them into snakes to avoid experiencing the punishment of their offspring. The gods heard their wish and transformed them into snakes.
Cadmus and Harmony. Morgan, Evelyn de, 1877, oil painting. Cadmus has been transformed into a snake and wrapped around the Harmony.
6. Συμφωνία The word symphony is a compound word. It comes from the preposition "συν" (Greek pronunciation syn) having the meaning "together" and the noun "φωνή" (Greek pronunciation foni) which means voice, sound. 7. Σύνθεση The word synthesis is a compound word. It comes from the preposition "συν" having the meaning "together" and the verb «θέτω» (Greek pronunciation theto) which means: put, place, set. 8. Οκτάβα The octave (do,re,mi,fa,sol,la,si,do) is the feminine form of the Latin adjective “octavus”, derived from the Greek number “οκτώ» (Greek pronunciation octo) that means “eight”.
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The Odyssey of words 9. Ορχήστρα The word orchestra derived from the ancient Greek verb «ορχούμαι» (Greek pronunciation orchoume), meaning “dance”. In ancient times, the orchestra was the circular part of the theater in which members of the chorus danced, in other words they performed rhythmic movements.
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The Odyssey of words 10. Όργανο The word organ is ancient Greek. The word passed into Latin as «organum» and then in other European languages. In Greek has the following meanings: -
Instrument e.g. The violin is a musical όργανο. Part of the body e.g. Our heart is όργανο. Object with which we perform a task eg The ruler is a geometric όργανο.
11. Λύρα Words lyre and lyric are ancient Greek. Lyre was a stringed instrument of ancient Greeks with seven or nine strings which was played with the fingers or with a bow and accompanied singing recitation.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQjd8xpxKSM 12. Kιθάρα The word guitar is an ancient Greek word with unknown etymology. 13. Σαξόφωνο The word comes from the name of Adolphe Sax (1814-1894), a Belgian manufacturer of musical instruments. 14. Πλήκτρο The word plectrum comes from the ancient Greek verb «πλήττω» meaning «knock, hit» In English it’s a thin flat piece of plastic, tortoiseshell, or other slightly flexible material held by or worn on the fingers and used to pluck the strings of a musical instrument such as a guitar. In Greek “πλήκτρο» means: the piano key or the key from a computer keyboard 15. Τόνος
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The Odyssey of words The word tone comes from the ancient Greek verb «τείνω» (Greek pronunciation tino) that means stretch. 16. Ταλέντο This word talent was born in ancient Greece as «τάλαντον» (Greek pronunciation “talanton”). «Τάλαντον» was a coin. Then the Romans took the word and turned it into “talentum”. Finally, the Greeks retook the word in their language as reborrowing. The people of Europe also took this word from Romans. 17. Φιλαρμονική The word philharmonic is a compound word. It comes from the ancient Greek verb «φιλώ» (Greek pronunciation filo) meaning "love" and the word «harmony» which we siscussed above. 18. Φωνητικός The word phonetic comes from the Greek word «φωνή» (Greek pronunciation foni) = voice. 19. Πολυφωνικός The word polyphony is a complex word. It comes from the adjective «πολύς» (Greek pronunciation polis) = «much» and the word «φωνή»= voice. Polyphony is the style of simultaneously combining a number of parts, each forming an individual melody and harmonizing with each other. 20. Στερεοφωνικός The word stereophonic is a complex word. It comes from the adjective «στερεός» (Greek pronunciation stereos) = stable and the word «φωνή» = voice (Τhe sound seems to surround the listener and to come from more than one source). 21. Μικρόφωνο The word microphone is a complex word. It comes from the adjective «μικρός» (Greek pronunciation mikros) = small and the word «φωνή» = voice. 22. Μεγάφωνο The word megaphone is a complex word. It comes from the adjective «μέγας» (Greek pronunciation megas) = big and the word «φωνή» = voice. 23. Γραμμόφωνο The word gramophone is a complex word. It comes from the noun «γραμμή» (Greek pronunciation grammi) = line and the word «φωνή» = "voice". A gramophone consists of a tubular arm having at one of its ends a read head, itself composed of a needle, similar to a sewing needle that can follow the lines drawn on the disk. Linda Alexopoulou – Theodoros TomarasPage 5
The Odyssey of words 24. Δίσκος The word disk is an ancient Greek word (Greek pronunciation “diskos”). 25. Ράδιο The word radio is ancient Greek and comes from the word "ράδιο" which means radium. Radium is a chemical element with the symbol Ra. 26. Xορός The word chorus is ancient Greek and means "chorus" (Greek pronunciation: "choros"). In modern Greek, this word means dance.
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