Like Spanish, Italian, and Portuguese, French is a language of Latin origin. However, the French dictionary contains words whose origins have nothing to do with Latin. Ancient Greece left a cultural heritage to France, including some expressions. Here are French words of Greek origin.
Modern Greek is spoken by approximately 22 million people worldwide. The majority of Greek speakers are in Greece and Cyprus, and the rest belong to minorities in Albania, Turkey, North Macedonia, etc. Modern Greek is inherited from Ancient Greek which has influenced most modern languages, including French. The Renaissance period brought Greek culture back into the spotlight. From the fourteenth to the seventeenth centuries, French words with Greek roots appeared. These neologisms are still in use today. Here are some examples: Hypermarket, pharmacy, ring road…
Word of Greek origin: What French word comes from Greek and why?
Thousands of words in the dictionary have Greek roots. It is one of the most famous terms democracy. It is derived from the Greek words “demos” and “kratos,” which mean “people power.” Another example, the word hippopotamus has Greek roots “hippos” and “potamos” which literally means “hippopotamus”. Ancient Greek also gave the word telephone. It comes from the Greek words “télé” and “phonè,” which means “a sound from a distance.” The Greek roots of the word astronomy are “astro” and “nomos” which means “law of the stars”. The word geography comes from the words “geo” and “graphia,” which literally means “writing of the earth.”
Vocabulary: How do you know if a French word comes from a Greek root?
Many French words were created from prefixes of Greek origin. They can express Intensity, movement, position and many other ideas. For example, the prefix dia- in the word “diameter” means “across.” Some words in French use Greek suffixes. By adding them to the French radicals, they make it possible to form verbs, adjectives, nouns and adverbs. The suffix -ist in the word dentist comes from ancient Greek. The same is true of the word artist. Many Greek radicals are recognizable in French. The Greek root -log which means “researcher” is used in many scientific professions such as psychologist, dermatologist or even astrologer.
Words, expressions and lexicon of ancient Greek: what are the few words used in French schools?
The word school has its Greek roots from the word “skholè,” which means “leisure” or “leisure time.” In French schools, many subjects have names of Greek origin. This is the case with mathematics, which comes from “mathematikos,” which relates to knowledge. The term geometry comes from the Greek words “geo” and “metria” which mean earth and measurement respectively. The alphabet gets its name from “alpha” and “beta,” which are the first two letters of the Greek alphabet. The word physics comes from the Greek word “phusikế” which translates to “the science of nature”. In physical education and sports, students train in a gymnasium. This word has its Greek roots from “gumnásion”, which is the place where Greeks would train naked and strengthen their bodies.
You may also be interested in:
⋙ Why do we pronounce “Ville” like “Vile”?
⋙ Why is the letter “K” so rare in French?
⋙ Why was the French language called “Molière’s language”?
⋙QUIZ: Do you know where these well-known expressions in French come from?
