Greek and Latin in Scientific Terminology, Lecture 4
 Andrew Dunning
 2 October 2014

Last Time
Inflected Languages
•	Examined basic concepts of inflected languages: background information to help you avoid embarrassing mistakes and make better use of dictionaries (important for the final assignment).
•	You need to understand for the purposes of the test:
–	that, due to the processes of inflection, slightly different forms of stems can refer to the same original word;
–	that the endings of words can dramatically change their meaning.
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•	Introduced Greek noun-forming suffixes.
•	Read
–	Džuganová (2013), who explains how terminology has been created in the past, and how it tends to be created today;
–	Dirckx (2001), on singular and plural forms of words (which we will discuss further today and later in the term).
Test One
What do you need to know?
•	Learn the prefixes, roots, and suffixes from the first five lectures, all found in the online vocabulary list.
–	If you want additional examples of terminology using these stems, you can look at Ayers, lessons 1–18.
•	You are responsible for knowing the meaning of terms on the list that can be composed of the elements you have learned; questions on these, however, will be multiple choice, vel sim. (or something similar).
•	No terms will appear on your test of which you have not learned all the constituent elements in the lessons covered so far.
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•	There will be a handful of questions in which you will be asked to transliterate Greek words into Latin characters. They will be words with very close English equivalents, as we have been looking at in class; if you want something to practice on, see the ‘Familiar Greek Words’ list on the course website.
•	There will be a few other questions (multiple choice) drawn from the readings for the class.
•	Your main focus in studying should be on the vocabulary.
•	The test will be one hour in length.
•	There will be a short lesson beforehand. Material introduced in this lesson will not appear on the test.
•	We will have a short practice quiz (non-credit) next class.
Sample Questions
•	Give at least one English translation for each of the following Greek bases:
1.	ANTHROP-
2.	MELAN-
3.	HELIC-, HELIX
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•	Give at least one English translation for each of the following Greek bases:
1.	ANTHROP-
–	human being
2.	MELAN-
–	black
3.	HELIC-, HELIX
–	spiral
Hydrotropism
•	Choose one:
a.	absence of the sense of smell
b.	response to stimulus of water
c.	inflammation of the urinary bladder
Hydro/trop/ism
•	Answer: B
a.	absence of the sense of smell
b.	response to stimulus of water
c.	inflammation of the urinary bladder
•	HYDRO-, ‘water’ + TROP-, ‘turn’ + -ism, ‘condition of’
Greek Reading Practice
ἀήρ
•	aēr (air, as in aerodynamics)
τόπος
•	topos (place)
•	dystopia, topology, utopia
ἀμφίβιος
•	amphibios
νεῦρον
•	neuron (nerve, sinew)
•	neurology
χαρακτήρ
•	kharaktēr (character)
θρόνος
•	thronos (an elevated seat)
•	throne
βλάσφημος
•	blasphēmos (evil-speaking)
•	blaspheme
κλῖμαξ
•	klimax (ladder)
•	climax
βάρος
•	baros (weight)
•	barometer, millibar
κίνημα
•	kinēma (movement)
•	cinema, cineamatic
βαπτίζω
•	baptizō (dip, immerse)
•	baptize
σύστημα
•	sustēma (system)
•	systematic
βορέας
•	boreas (north)
•	hyperborean, an inhabitant of the extreme north
μέθοδος
•	methodos (following after, pursuit, method, system)
•	method, methodical, Methodist
θέατρον
•	theatron (a place for viewing, especially a theatre)
ἀνάθεμα
•	anathema (accursed)
ἀστήρ
•	astēr (star)
•	asteroid
Greek Diminutive Suffixes
What is a diminutive suffix?
•	Diminutive suffixes are normal noun-forming suffixes.
•	Every diminutive suffix gives the meaning ‘little’. That’s why they’re called ‘diminutive’!
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•	In English, examples include:
–	cat → kitten
–	bull → bullock
–	small → smallish
–	kitchen → kitchenette
–	pig → piglet
-ium, -ion
•	‘little’
•	BACTER-ium, ‘little rod’ (bacteria is plural)
•	POD-ium, ‘little foot’ (tube foot of echinoderm)
•	THEC-ium, ‘little case’ (the spore-bearing layer in fungi’)
•	STOM-ion, ‘little mouth’ (the midpoint of the oral fissure determined with the lips closed)
-idium, -idion
•	‘little’
•	CONI, ‘dust’ + -idium = conidium, a spore produced asexually by various fungi
•	BAS-, ‘base’ + -idium = basidium, a microscopic club-shaped spore-bearing structure produced by certain fungi
•	PLAST-, ‘to mould’ + -idion = plastidion, any of various small bodies of specialized protoplasm lying in the cytoplasm of cells
-arium, -arion
•	‘little’
•	CON-, ‘cone’ + -arium = conarium, pineal body
•	HIPP-, ‘horse’ + -arion = Hipparion, a genus of extinct three-toed mammals related to horses
-isk, -iscus
•	‘little’
•	ASTER-, ‘star’ + -isk = asterisk
•	LEMN-, ‘ribbon’ + -iscus = lemniscus, a secondary sensory pathway of the central nervous system
•	MEN-, ‘moon’ + -iscus = meniscus, a crescent or crescentic body
Greek Verb-Forming Suffixes
What is a verb-forming suffix?
•	These suffixes form verbs when they are added to the end of a word.
•	There are two of them, and only one is really Greek.
-ize
•	‘to make’, ‘to treat’, ‘to do something with’
•	CARBON-, ‘coal’ + -ize = carbonize
•	syn- + CHRON-, ‘time’ + -ize = synchronize
•	ant(i) + AGON-, ‘to struggle’ + -ize = antagonize
-ate
•	‘to make’, ‘to treat’, ‘to do something with’
•	GYR-, ‘circle’ + -ate = gyrate
•	AER-, ‘air’ + -ate = aerate
•	de- + HYDR- + -ate = dehydrate
‘Advertise’, not ‘advertize’
•	In the United Kingdom, words that end in -ize in Canada are often spelled -ise (e.g. organise rather than organize).
•	Some verbs, however, must always be spelled -ise, because they are not using the -ize suffix, but are writing -ise as part of a longer word element. For example:
–	-cise (meaning ‘cutting’) in the word excise;
–	-prise (meaning ‘taking’) as in surprise;
–	–mise (meaning ‘sending’) as in promise.
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•	Common words that must end in -ise include:
–	advertise
–	advise
–	arise
–	chastise
–	compromise
–	devise
–	disguise
–	enterprise
–	exercise
–	improvise
–	incise
–	promise
–	revise
–	supervise
–	surmise
–	surprise
Verbs in -yse
•	There are also a few verbs that always end in -yse in British English, and can also be spelled -yze in Canadian English (both are correct).
•	These words do not come directly from Greek, but were created (mostly in the nineteenth century) on the basis of analyse, which seems to have been a back-formation from analysis:
–	breathalyse
–	catalyse
–	dialyse
–	electrolyse
–	hydrolyse
–	paralyse
–	psychoanalyse
Analysing Ancient Accounts of Disease
Plague in the Ancient World
•	Authors clearly modelled their writings on actual events, but also imitated one another’s descriptions.
•	One needs to be somewhat wary of making a scientific diagnosis based on a historical account, at least until one understands more about the context.
•	Translations of various accounts in Dirckx (2000a; 2000b).
Homer
Apollo, who was angry with Agamemnon for his shameful treatment of the priest Chryses, sent a dire plague against the king’s army, and spread death among the people. Iliad I:9–12.
First he smote down the mules and the wild dogs, and then he turned his stinging arrows against mankind. And thickly burned the funeral pyres. Iliad I:50–52.
Sophocles
Chorus. Alas! My sorrows are beyond measure! The whole city is stricken with a pestilence against which human resources seem powerless. The noble earth no longer brings forth its fruits, and women in labor no longer bring forth children…. Deaths beyond all counting have devastated the populace. Corpses lie everywhere, unmourned, harbouring the seeds of death. Here young wives, there grey-haired mothers send up their shrieks of grief at the altar steps. Oedipus the King I:167–185.
Thucydides
I take it that everyone, whether physician or layman, is at liberty to express an opinion about this epidemic, to speculate as to its origins, and to suggest reasons why it proved so devastating. My purpose here is simply to record the events as they occurred, so that if the same disease breaks out again, any observer who is equipped with this information cannot fail to recognize it. I might mention that I not only observed the ravages of the disease in others but contracted it myself. […]
More
•	Lucretius: Probably copying Thucydides.
•	Virgil: Provides a detailed account of a disease that can be identified as anthrax.
•	Ovid: Reusing Virgil?
•	Seneca: recasting Sophocles for readers in Latin.
•	Keep in mind context of writing (verse/prose; audience); differences inherent between oral and manuscript cultures and approach to knowledge in the present day.
•	For more, read Karenberg and Moog (2004); Eisenstein (2005).
Greek Plurals
How are Greek plurals formed?
•	Many English words that are derived from Greek still retain their Greek plural forms (as do many words derived from Latin).
•	Often, you can predict them based on a few simple rules. Sometimes, however you cannot: for example, ‘octopus’ can give the plural ‘octopodes’! (‘Octopuses’ is, however, now more common. ‘Octopi’, which would follow the rules for some Latin plurals, is incorrect.)
singular -ma, plural -mata
•	one exanthema, many exanthemata
•	carcinoma, pl. carcinomata
•	trauma, pl. traumata
•	Both ‘carcinomas’ and ‘traumas’ are, however, acceptable English plurals.
singular -sis, plural -ses
•	analysis, pl. analyses
•	synthesis, pl. syntheses
•	diagnosis, pl. diagnoses
singular -on, plural -a
•	phenomenon, pl. phenomena
•	criterion, pl. criteria
•	protozoon, pl. protozoa
singular -itis, plural -itides
•	meningitis, pl. meningitides
•	arthritis, pl. arthritides
•	Only found in technical usage.
singular -x, plural -ces (when preceded by a vowel)
•	thorax, pl. thoraces (or thoraxes)
•	helix, pl. helices
Associations between active commuting, body fat, and body mass index
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The beneficial effects of physical activity on obesity and related health outcomes are generally well understood. In high and middle income countries however, lifestyles have become increasingly sedentary, and physical inactivity has become the fourth leading risk factor for premature mortality. Declining rates of functional active travel have contributed to this population-level decrease in physical activity, and ecological evidence suggests that rising levels of obesity are more pronounced in settings with greater declines in active travel. Active commuting to work has been strongly recommended by the UK National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) as a feasible way of incorporating greater levels of physical activity into daily life. Data from the 2011 census show that in England and Wales 23.7 million individuals regularly commute to a workplace – more than half of the 41.1 million adults of working age covered by the census.
Counting in Greek
HEMI-
•	‘half’
•	HEMI-SPHERE, a half of a sphere; HEMI-BRANCH, a gill having filaments on one side only, a half-gill; HEMI-NEPHR-ectomy, removal of part of a kidney; HEMI-an-OP-ia or HEMI-an-OP-sia, blindness over half the field of vision; HEMI-ALG-ia, pain affecting one half of the body.
MON-
•	‘single’, ‘one’
•	MON-ARCH; MONO-GRAPH, a detailed written study of a single specialized subject or an aspect of it; MONO-CARP-ic, a plant flowering only once and then dying; MONO-TRICH-ous, having only one flagellum at one pole (opp. amphi-TRICH-ous)
PROT-
•	‘first’, ‘original’, ‘primitive’
•	PROTO-CEPHAL-on, first of six segments composing an insect’s head; PROTO-PHYTE, any plant of the lowest and most primitive type; PROTO-ZO-an, a unicellular or noncellular animal organism
DI-
•	‘twice’, ‘double’
•	DI-LEM-ma, a situation in which a difficult choice has to be made between two or more alternatives; DI-PLO-ma (‘folded paper’); DI-ARTHR-osis, a freely movable articulation; DI-oecious, having sexes separate, usually refers to plants which have male and female flowers on different individuals
DICH-
•	‘in two’
•	DICHO-tomy, a division or contrast between two things (in botany, repeated branching into two equal parts); DICH-OP-tic, having the borders of the compound eyes separate, or having the eyes wide apart (of an insect)
DEUT-, DEUTER-
•	‘second’
•	DEUTER-AGON-ist, the person second in importance to the protagonist in a drama; DEUTERO-nomy (‘second law’); DEUTERO-GENE-sis, second phase of embryonic development
TRI-
•	‘three’
•	TRI-POD; TRI-CYCLE; TRI-CHROMAT-ic, able to perceive the three primary colours; TRI-DACTYL, having three digits; TRI-COCC-us, a three-carpel fruit
TETR(A)-
•	‘four’
•	TETRA-meter; TETRA-CHEIR-ous, having four hands; TETRA-CYCL-ic, with four whorls
PENT(A)-
•	‘five’
•	PENTA-GON; PENTA-meter; PENTA-DACTYL, having all four limbs normally terminating in five digits
HEXA-
•	‘six’
•	HEXA-GON-al; HEXA-meter; HEXA-GYN-ous, having six pistils; HEXA-hedron, a POLY-hedron having six faces; HEX-ose, any monosaccharide containing six carbon atoms
HEPT(A)-
•	‘seven’
•	HEPTA-GYN-ous, having seven pistils; HEPTA-HYDR-ate, a compound with seven molecules of water
OCT(A)-
•	‘eight’
•	OCTO-PUS; OCT-ODONT, having eight teeth; OCT-OPTHALM-us, having eight eyes
ENNE(A)-
•	‘nine’
•	ENNE-ad, a group of nine; ENNEA-GON, a nine-sided polyhedron; ENNE-ANDR-ous, having nine stamens
DEC(A)-
•	‘ten’
•	DECA-LOGUE, the Ten Commandments; DECA-HYDR-ate, compound with ten molecules of water; DECA-hedron, a ten-sided polyhedron; DECA-POD, having ten legs
HECT-
•	‘hundred’
•	HECT-ARE, one hundred ares (10,000 square metres); HECTO-GRAM, one hundred grams
KILO-
•	‘one thousand’
•	KILO-CALOR-ie, one thousand calories (equal to one large calorie); KILO-GRAM, one thousand grams
Key Roots
BRANCHI-
•	‘gills’
•	BRANCHI-a, the gills of fish and some invertebrate animals; meta-BRANCHI-al, pertaining to or in the posterior gill region; PHYLLO-BRANCHI-a a gill consisting of numbers of lamellae or thin plates
CARP-
•	‘fruit’
•	ACTINO-CARP-ous, of plants with flowers and fruit radially arranged; ANGIO-CARP-ic, having or being fruit enclosed within an external covering, opposite of GYMNO-CARP-ic
•	NB: CARP- can also mean ‘wrist’. ‘Carpal tunnel syndrome’ refers to the wrist, but a ‘carpel’ is the female reproductive organ of a flower.
-CELE
•	‘hernia’, ‘swelling’ (in a specified part): Gk. kēlē ‘tumour’
•	ENTERO-CELE, hernia containing a loop of intestine; HYDRO-MYELO-CELE, excessive accumulation of a fluid in the central canal of the spinal cord; GALACTO-CELE, a cystic tumour in the ducts of the breast; VARICO-cele, a mass of varicose veins in the spermatic cord
GEN(E), GON-
•	‘to be produced’, ‘to produce’; ‘seed’
•	GENE-sis; eu-GEN-ics (i.e. ‘producing well’); COCCO-GONE, a reproductive cell in certain algae; GON-ad, an organ that produces gametes; a testis or ovary
HELI-
•	‘sun’
•	HELIO-CENTR-ic; HELI-um; HELIO-TAX-is, locomotor or other response to stimulus of sunlight; HELIO-LITH-ic, marked by sun worship and erection of megaliths
MER-
•	‘part’
•	ADENO-MERE, that portion of a developing gland which will be responsible for its functioning; dys-MERO-GENE-sis, segmentation resulting in unlike parts
meronym
•	MER-ONYM
•	a term which denotes part of something but which is used to refer to the whole of it;
•	e.g. I see several familiar faces present.
NYCT-
•	‘night’
•	NYCTI-TROP-ism, tendency of certain leaves to curl upward at night; NYCT-ALOP-ia, a condition characterized by an abnormal inability to see in dim light or at night; NYCTO-phobia, extreme or irrational fear of the night or of darkness
ONYM-
•	‘name’
•	an-ONYM-ous; PSEUD-ONYM; hyp-ONYM, a generic name not based on a type species
OO-
•	‘egg’
•	OO-CYTE, a cell in an ovary which may undergo meiotic division to form an ovum; OO-CYST, a cyst containing a zygote formed by a parasitic protozoan such as the malaria parasite
SAUR-
•	‘lizard’
•	DINO-SAUR; SAURO-POD, a dinosaur with massive limbs; BRANCHIO-SAUR, small, prehistoric amphibian, similar to a salamander; SAUR-ian, like a lizard; SAURO-GNATH-us, with saurian arrangement of jaw bones
PACHY-
•	‘thick’
•	PACHY-DERM, a very large mammal with thick skin; PACHY-ACR-ia, condition marked by clubbing fingers and toes; PACHY-CLAD-ous, thick-branched; PACHY-SANDR-a, an evergreen creeping shrubby plant of the box family
pachycephalosaur
•	PACHY-CEPHALO-SAUR
•	Gk. pakhus ‘thick’ + kephalē ‘head’ + sauros ‘lizard’
PEN-
•	‘deficiency’, ‘want’
•	PEN-ury, extreme poverty; GLYCO-PEN-ia, tendency towards hypoglycaemia
PHLEB-
•	‘vein’
•	PHLEB-itis, inflammation of the walls of a vein; METRO-PHLEB-itis, inflammation of the veins of the uterus; PHLEBO-tomy, the surgical opening or puncture of a vein in order to withdraw blood, to introduce a fluid, or (historically) when letting blood
BRACHI-
•	‘arm’
•	BRACHI-al, relating to the arm; MACRO-BRACH-ia, excessive development of the arms; MONO-BRACHI-us, an individual congenitally lacking one arm; BRACHIO-SAUR-us, a dinosaur with forelegs much longer than the hind legs
CENTE-
•	‘to puncture’, ‘to prick’
•	ENTERO-CENTE-sis, surgical puncture of the intestine; PNEUMONO-CENTE-sis, surgical puncturing of a lung
•	centre is also from this root (via kentron, ‘sharp point, stationary point of a pair of compasses’)
CHIR-, CHEIR
•	‘hand’
•	CHIRO-PRACT-ic; CHIRO-GRAPH-y, handwriting; MEGALO-CHIR-ous, large-handed; POLY-CHEIR-ia state of having a supernumerary hand
Surgeon
•	This word comes from CHEIR- + ERG- ‘work’, but from French surgien, meaning that the roots are hard to recognize.
Now a surgeon should be youthful or at any rate nearer youth than age; with a strong and steady hand which never trembles, and ready to use the left hand as well as the right; with vision sharp and clear, and spirit undaunted; filled with pity, so that he wishes to cure his patient, yet is not moved by his cries, to go too fast, or cut less than is necessary; but he does everything just as if the cries of pain cause him no emotion.
Celsus, De medicina 7.4
COEL(I)-, (CEL-), -COEL
•	‘cavity’, ‘abdominal cavity’, ‘belly’
•	COELI-ac, relating to the abdomen; COELIO-tomy, opening of the abdominal cavity; ENCEPHALO-COEL, cavity within the brain, cerebral ventricle (cf. encephalocele, a hernia of the brain)
DENDR-
•	‘tree’
•	RHODO-DENDR-on (RHODO-, rose-coloured); DENDR-ite or DENDR-on, a short branched extension of a nerve cell
MIS-
•	‘hate’
•	MIS-ANTHROP-y, a dislike of humankind; MISO-GYN-ist, a person who hates women; MISO-GAM-y, the hatred of marriage
PTER-, PTERYG-
•	‘wing’
•	HELICO-PTER; PTERO-DACTYL; an-ISO-PTER-ous, unequally winged, applies to seeds; HYALO-PTER-ous, having transparent wings
SCHIZ-, SCHIS(T)-
•	‘to split’
•	SCHIZO-PHREN-ia, lit. having a split mind; ana-SCHIS-tic, applied to a type of tetrads which divides twice longitudinally in meiosis; SCHISTO-GLOSS-ia, condition of having a cleft tongue
TOX-
•	‘poison’
•	TOX-ico-DERMAT-itis, skin inflammation due to poison; TOX-ico-DENDR-on, genus of plants including poison ivy and oak; TOX-ico-GNATH, poison fangs of the centipede
TRICH-, (THRIX-)
•	‘hair’; ‘be hairy’
•	TRICH-iasis, ingrowth or introversion of the eyelashes; amphi-TRICH-ous, with flagellum at each pole; SCHIZO-TRICH-ia, splitting of the hair; TRICHO-logy, the branch of medical and cosmetic study and practice concerned with the hair and scalp
XER-
•	‘dry’
•	XER-ic, containing little moisture; XERO-PHYTE, a plant which needs very little water; XERO-PHOB-ous, having little capacity to resist drought; XERO-THERM, a plant which survives drought and heat
ALL-
•	‘other’, ‘different’
•	ALLE-GOR-y, a story, poem, or picture which can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one; ALLO-plasty, a plastic operation in which material outside the human body is used; ALLO-PATR-ic, animals or plans occurring in separate non-overlapping geographical areas
ER-, EROT-
•	‘love’, ‘sexual love’
•	AUTO-EROT-ic, relating to sexual excitement generated by stimulating or fantasizing about one’s own body; ALLO-EROT-ism, sexual excitement induced by and directed toward another
HOL-
•	‘whole’, ‘entire’
•	CAT-HOL-ic (in respect of the whole); HOLO-CAUST (burning of the whole); HOLO-GASTRO-SCHIS-is, fissure involving the whole length of the abdomen
HOM-, HOME-
•	‘same’, ‘similar’
•	HOMO-CHROM-ous, of one colour; HOMO-PHONE, pronounced alike but different in meaning or derivation or spelling; HOMO-PTER-ous, having wings alike
HYPN-
•	‘sleep’
•	HYPN-AGOG-ic, inducing sleep, pertaining to inception of sleep, applies to visions seen just before complete sleep
IDE-
•	‘idea’, ‘mental image’
•	MONO-IDE-ism, absorption in a single idea, as in mental depression, hypnosis or trance; IDEO-phobia, morbid fear of ideas
•	NB: cf. IDI- (‘one’s own’, ‘peculiar’, ‘distinct’).
LEUK-, (LEUC-)
•	‘white’
•	LEUK-AEM-ia; LEUKO-CYTE, a colourless cell which circulates in the blood; LEUKO-ENCEPHAL-itis, inflammation of the white substance of the brain
ONT-
•	‘being’, ‘individual’
•	ONTO-logy, the branch of metaphysics dealing with the nature of being; SCHIZ-ONT, a cell that divides by schizogony to form daughter cells (in biology, -ont denotes an individual or cell of a specified type)
PHYL-
•	‘race’
•	PHYL-um, (in zoology) a principal taxonomic category that ranks above class and below kingdom; POLY-PHYL-etic, a group of organisms derived from more than one common evolutionary ancestor or ancestral group and therefore not suitable for placing in the same taxon
•	NB: cf. PHIL- (love).
STREPT-, STROPH-
•	‘turned’, ‘twisted’
•	PHLEBO-STREP-sis, the twisting of a vein; STREPTO-COCC-us, a bacterium of a genus that includes the agents of souring of milk and dental decay, and haemolytic pathogens causing various infections such as scarlet fever and pneumonia
ZYG-
•	‘yoke’; relating to joining or pairing
•	ZYG-ODONT, having molar teeth in which the four tubercles are united in pairs; ZYG-ote, cell formed by the union of two gametes or reproductive cells (a fertilized ovum)