|
It would seem weird to use the word mnesia in English, but when we attach a one-letter prefix meaning "not" in front of it, it's suddenly normal. That's exactly what's happening on an etymological level here: our word amnesia, which comes from Ancient Greek amnesia, is composed of that prefix, a-, and the root mnesia, meaning "to remember" (so, together, amnesia means "not remembering"). A-, through Proto-Hellenic, comes from Proto-Indo-European n (yes, just the letter), which meant "not". Mnesia, of course, isn't too complex, either; it can be conjugated to mnasthai ("recall"), which, also through Proto-Hellenic, comes from Proto-Indo-European. In this case, the reconstruction is men, meaning "to think". Usage of the word amnesia, which was first attested in 1786, has skyrocketed in recent years as its meaning becomes less medical and more used in popular culture. What was I talking about again?
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
AUTHOR
Adam Aleksic, an incoming freshman at Harvard University, has been described as the internet's sixth most famous etymologist. He has disturbing interests in linguistics, vexillology, geography, board games, limericks, and law, and he loves writing about himself in the third person.
Archives
August 2019
The Etymology Nerd |
