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Lecture 13

I

n her excellent book 7KHUHHNDQG/DWLQ5RRWVRI(QJOLVK, Tamara
Green tells of a popular rhyme recited by weary Latin students: “Latin is
a dead language, / As you can plainly see. / It killed off all the Romans, /
And now it’s killing me.” Although this little poem makes us smile, it also
raises an important question: If no one speaks Latin today, why bother
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in English and many other languages, and the point of studying Greek and
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$3OHDVDQW3UH¿[eu-
z 7KH SUH¿[eu- comes from Greek and means “good, well, or
pleasant.” For example, the word eulogyFRPELQHVWKHSUH¿[eu-
with the Greek noun logos, meaning “word.” Thus, if you offer a
eulogy at a funeral, you are speaking well of the deceased.

z Other English words that use the euSUH¿[LQFOXGHeuphemism, which

is the use of a more pleasant word in place of a word that seems overly

blunt or harsh, and euphonious, which refers to a pleasant sound.

z Two eu- words that spark debate are eugenics and euthanasia. In

Greek, eugenics literally means “good birth.” This word refers to

the idea that the human race can be improved through selective

breeding. Euthanasia LQFRUSRUDWHV WKH SUH¿[eu- with the Greek

noun thanatos, meaning “death.” Thus, euthanasia literally means

“a good or pleasant death,” and of course, the word is used to refer

to mercy killing.

+LJK)UHTXHQF\3UH¿[HVdis- and in-
z 7KH/DWLQSUH¿[dis- can mean “not,” as well as “opposite or apart,
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disagree (“not to agree”) and discard (“to throw away”).