Re: International Greek Language Day (9 February)

On 2/9/2024 12:36 AM, Ross Clark wrote:

Why this day? It's the "commemoration day" (deathday, in fact) of Dionysios Solomos (1798-1857), who (some of you may not know) is considered Greece's national poet. He wrote a "Hymn to Liberty" (Ὕμνος εἰς τὴν Ἐλευθερίαν), which, suitably musicked, became the national anthem of Greece (1865) and Cyprus (1966). But there's more, to do with the establishment of a Modern Greek literary language:
 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dionysios_Solomos
 Greek has the longest period of written use of any language in the Western world. "Over 3,500 years", says Crystal, which means he's counting in Mycenean (Linear B). But even if we insist on a continuous tradition using the same script, it would be (say) 2,800, still the longest.
 Crystal goes on about the many words of Greek origin in English, but we all know about that.
 

The word "oxymoron" itself is an oxymoron, which makes its etymology (word origin) quite interesting!
Here's the breakdown:
Origin: Ancient Greek
Etymological components:
oxys (ὀξύς): meaning "sharp, keen, pointed"
moros (μωρός): meaning "dull, stupid, foolish"
Literal meaning: "sharp-dull" or "pointedly foolish"
While the word itself seems contradictory, it perfectly captures the essence of what an oxymoron is - a figure of speech that combines opposite meanings.
Additional points:
The term "oxymoron" first appeared in Latinized Greek (oxymōrum) around 400 AD.
The actual Greek compound word "ὀξύμωρον" (oxymoron) doesn't seem to exist in any known ancient Greek texts.