Quinces, Chania, figs, liver, I kiss incessantly, sisters-in-law, weasels, under the aegis, goats, fog, mold.
What is the connection between quinces and Chania, and between figs and liver? How on earth are sisters-in-law from the same root as weasels, and fog from mold? Which astonishing phrase meant “I kiss incessantly” in Ancient Greek? Why, when we say that something is organized “under the aegis” of an organization, are we basically talking about a goat?
Following the great success of A Thousand and One Words, comes its sequel. Here we leave verbs and their countless derivatives aside for a while and turn to the magical linguistic journeys of words that belong to general categories such as: love and sex, colors, money, fruits and vegetables, animals, sports, and celestial elements. Panos Dimakis reveals to us the secret relationships between the words we use every day for millennia, in an entertaining narrative enriched with history, mythology, pop culture, and plenty of humor. We have inherited a wealth of words and expressions from the ancient Greek language. Words forged by time, by use, by our culture still manage today to convey messages. Another magical and in-depth presentation of the words that shape our language, and therefore our thought and our culture.
