Expert: Maria - 2/15/2010

Question
Why do we need to know if a root of a word is Latin or Greek?

Answer
Hello,

First of all to know the origin of words means to know the paths of human relationships and the ties among countries since word history, i.e. etymology,  traces also the history of peoples.

So, in English as well as in many other languages there is a great deal of words which derive from Ancient Greek and Latin like for example “philosophy”,“philosopher” and “pleonasm” (from Greek), “superfluous”, “obsolete” and  “auction”(from Latin),etc.

In short, to have curiosity about words, not only about their meanings,  but especially about their origins, means to become  acquainted with words history as well as with our own history.

Best regards,
Maria