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PLACE TOGETHER LIGHT

4/26/2019

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Most people can figure out where the word photosynthesis comes from, but it's still a very interesting origin to cover. ​Photo- is a prefix meaning "light" present in a lot of scientific words. That's from the Ancient Greek word phos, which derives from the Proto-Indo-European reconstruction bha, which means "to shine" and is present in thousands of other words. Synthesis is also something we should recognize: it exists today as a word meaning "to make", and that's exactly its function in this word. Through Latin, it came from Ancient Greek, where it had the same spelling and definition. Now we can eliminate the prefix syn-, which meant "together" or "with" (traces to Mycenaean Greek), which leaves the verb tithenai, "to place" (so synthesis is placing together), ultimately from PIE deh​, "to put". The etymology of photosynthesis almost suggests that you're placing light together, but as we know it's meant to evoke placing together molecules in the presence of light.
2 Comments
Brad
5/14/2019 09:54:13 am

Adam, love the work you do on here.

Wanted to let you know that <photo> is NOT a prefix. A prefix is an affix that is initial to a root or stem. Since it also carries the denotation of "light," then it is a base in this word. This makes photosynthesis a compound word.

And the actual base is <phot>, as in the word "photic." The <o> is a connecting vowel. You'll find this often in compound words with Greek origins.

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Adam Aleksic link
5/14/2019 05:48:46 pm

Thank you for the corrections! Writing this blog is a learning process for me, so I appreciate the feedback, which will help me avoid these mistakes in the future.

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    Hello! I'm Adam Aleksic. I have a linguistics degree from Harvard University, where I co-founded the Harvard Undergraduate Linguistics Society and wrote my thesis on Serbo-Croatian language policy. In addition to etymology, I also really enjoy traveling, trivia, philosophy, board games, conlanging, and art history. 

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